3D printed mandrels allow amateur rocketeers to explore propellant geometries that were previously challenging to cast on a small scale without special tooling. This article covers my learnings from the experiments I've done with printed mandrels.

Static firing rocket motors is essential to verifying their design and performance, and a carefully-designed structure is, in turn, required to do so safely and efficiently.

A tunable, monolithic propellant geometry that enables high volume loading. Though previously difficult to manufacture for amateur motors, 3D printed mandrels make it easy.

Some guidelines and tips for making relatively high solids-loading propellants that process much more easily than typical amateur compositions.

The heaviest component of a typical solid rocket motor design other than the propellant is usually the motor casing. To optimize this major contributor to overall rocket mass, I developed a series of motors that borrows ideas from motors made in the industry by utilizing filament wound carbon fiber cases.