Almost to the end of 2021 and I was reflecting on projects I completed and thought folks could share their 2021 accomplishments.
Professionally, for me it was suits and props for "Station 11", "Moonfall", "The Spaceman" "For All Mankind"-Season 3 and "War of the Worlds"-Season 3
Personal projects:
Back in 2019, I was asked by one of my clients, if I could build a replica of the Apollo unified hatch. Now that he has it, I can share it with you. Full scale Apollo Command module unified hatch, in machined aluminum & stainless steel. I started this in the Summer-Fall of 2019 and created about 180 Solidworks files. The main pieces were then machined in aluminum and stainless steel. The main body is epoxy FRP with threaded inserts and a rigid foam core. The latches all function, and are servo driven, and remote controlled. A powder coated steel frame allows it to be wall mounted, the then swung out and rotated so either side can be displayed.
My father owned a Welding & Machining job shop in New England, and worked on a number of Apollo elements as a sub contractor for Hamilton Standard and Rockwell. As a kid I saw how many of these pieces were produced, so it gave some insight on the surface finished used on the original hatch. I also have a small collection of original artifacts I could reference. The client wanted it finished as if it had just returned, so I kept the aging to a minimum. Finish paint was done by Heath Hammond.
Here it is on it's custom wall mount (grey) that allows the hatch to be rotated so either side can be displayed. The seal (orange) is high temp silicone.
The amazing hinges. (closed & open)
Left-The remote for the latches.
Right- The Exterior. The client wanted the hatch to look as it did just after splashdown recovery. The exterior of the replica hatch, as with the real hatch, is covered with aluminized Kapton film. The yellow "staining" is were the aluminum has been burned off the yellow Kapton.
Professionally, for me it was suits and props for "Station 11", "Moonfall", "The Spaceman" "For All Mankind"-Season 3 and "War of the Worlds"-Season 3
Personal projects:
Back in 2019, I was asked by one of my clients, if I could build a replica of the Apollo unified hatch. Now that he has it, I can share it with you. Full scale Apollo Command module unified hatch, in machined aluminum & stainless steel. I started this in the Summer-Fall of 2019 and created about 180 Solidworks files. The main pieces were then machined in aluminum and stainless steel. The main body is epoxy FRP with threaded inserts and a rigid foam core. The latches all function, and are servo driven, and remote controlled. A powder coated steel frame allows it to be wall mounted, the then swung out and rotated so either side can be displayed.
My father owned a Welding & Machining job shop in New England, and worked on a number of Apollo elements as a sub contractor for Hamilton Standard and Rockwell. As a kid I saw how many of these pieces were produced, so it gave some insight on the surface finished used on the original hatch. I also have a small collection of original artifacts I could reference. The client wanted it finished as if it had just returned, so I kept the aging to a minimum. Finish paint was done by Heath Hammond.
Here it is on it's custom wall mount (grey) that allows the hatch to be rotated so either side can be displayed. The seal (orange) is high temp silicone.
The amazing hinges. (closed & open)
Left-The remote for the latches.
Right- The Exterior. The client wanted the hatch to look as it did just after splashdown recovery. The exterior of the replica hatch, as with the real hatch, is covered with aluminized Kapton film. The yellow "staining" is were the aluminum has been burned off the yellow Kapton.
