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Goal:
The goal of this project was to manufacture a high quality carbon fiber fuselage tube for Olin Rocketry. The tube needed to be lightweight, strong, dimensionally precise, and smooth enough to reduce drag at high flight speeds. My work focused on the full composite workflow from layup to extraction to finishing, as well as coordinating with propulsion and airframe subteams to make sure the final fuselage met all geometric and structural requirements.
Challenges:
The fabrication process began by epoxying carbon fiber sheets and rolling them around a metal mandrel. After curing, we used liquid nitrogen to shrink the mandrel so the tube could slide off cleanly. Early cycles worked well, but after many uses the base mandrel no longer shrank as much, making extraction difficult and forcing us to modify the workflow and handle the part with extreme care to prevent internal delamination or surface tearing.
Cutting and handling carbon fiber also introduced safety and process challenges. We used shaving cream during cuts to trap loose fibers, sanded underwater to limit airborne dust, and disposed of all composite waste in designated containers. Even simple operations required multi step processes to protect both the composite and the people working on it.
Finishing the fuselage tube was one of the most time intensive steps. To achieve a clean aerodynamic surface, we wet sanded the entire tube and progressively worked through finer grit levels until the surface was smooth, uniform, and free of micro ridges that could increase drag.
Dimensional precision was equally important. Determining the correct radius and wall thickness required continuous coordination with propulsion, recovery, and airframe teams to ensure the fuselage would seat properly with internal components and that all couplers and interface parts aligned correctly. This cross team alignment shaped the final geometry and ensured the fuselage fit into the full rocket assembly.
Outcome:
The final carbon fiber fuselage was strong, lightweight, and aerodynamically clean, with a consistent radius and precise interface geometry that integrated smoothly with the rest of the rocket. Through repeated manufacturing cycles, we refined a reliable workflow for composite layups, liquid nitrogen extraction, safe cutting and sanding, and careful finishing.
This project strengthened my skills in composite fabrication, precision finishing, and cross team engineering coordination, culminating in a fuselage that directly contributes to the rocket’s overall performance and reliability.
