CU Lid Manufacturing
The CU lids' manufacturing has started after a couple of re-designs.
But..what's a CU lid?
Well, a CU lid, as the name might suggest, is a lid (badum tshh!); its purpose is to keep the CU covered during all phases of flight until it is jettisoned during the deployment of the parachute. Until then, it protects the CU's delicate electronic instruments and keeps the parachute folded.
Simple, yet fundamental: try and imagine what would happen to one of our units if the CU lid were not thrown away from the unit and therefore the parachute was not able to be deployed...
Our CU lid is composed of two parts: a white cylinder (which you can see in the first picture), and a yellow top, held together by means of some screws.
During the summer, my first idea was to 3D print the lids with a four piece modular design; however, due to major technical issues related to the shape of the objects to be printed, this design was abandoned. A simpler design followed, and then finally the last one managed to survive until the "executive" state!
I started with the choice of a suitable plate, on which I drew the required circular shapes with indication of the points I would drill afterwards.
Then handsaws, a band sander and some files helped me manufacture the yellow tops I needed. Afterwards I drilled and threaded holes, and I used a milling machine on the white cylinder to regulate the units' height so they would fit into our RMU.
The CU lids are ready now, and I can move on to my next task!
That's all for today folks, but stay tuned for the updates that will show up soon!
