Rolling paper tubes/struts

[sreinmann]

On my wish list is a model of the TDRS satellite scheduled to launch this coming August. I've done what research I think I'm going to have to be happy with and was lucky enough to find a 3D model in Blender that I can use as a reference. The model is fairly accurate so I'm doing that all to familiar "dance at the end of the diving board" as I decide whether I have enough time to finish or whether I should just shelve it for now.

A big concern is the structure of struts that come off the spacecraft bus and two dish antennas. yes, this artist's depiction is accurate for the satellite in-flight. I'd like to be able to design these struts so that they could be made of paper. But so far, as a novice, I've sometimes struggled with the method of "perpendicular rolling a rectangle into a tube" and sometimes just abandoned it for an aluminum wire/tube or plastic rod.

I know that more advanced models, like the Uhu's LEM have LOTS of paper struts, but I've not seen how these were created, presented, or built. I've considered suggesting a version of the "rolled newspaper" method where you diagonally roll thin paper (I've not yet tried this) to the desired diameter and then cut lengths to fit the model.

Okay a search of the forum has left me without references, and a search on google and youtube only teach me how to roll a better joint. Ugh -Internet. Is there a better reference out there?

[Vermin_King]

I don't do struts well, but I'm getting better. A trick I picked up from Ollie Bizer is to use thin paper and wrap around spaghetti. At least you have paper on what can be seen that way

[rickstef]

would paper lollipop sticks work?

AC Moore or Michaels would have them in the candy making aisle

[Rubenandres77]

Originally Posted by sreinmann

...
I know that more advanced models, like the Uhu's LEM have LOTS of paper struts, but I've not seen how these were created, presented, or built. ...

You can follow this link: Luna　module　組立(7): uhu02 ペーパークラフト
And his other one: Luna　module　組立(8) : uhu02 ペーパークラフト
To see how UHU himself built the struts of the LEM.
Most of them are simple flat laminated paper, carefully cut.
The appearance of them being round is due mostly to the shading he carefully textures.
I don't think he used rolled tubes in any support of the cage.

[airdave]

I guess its a matter of diameter.

Simplest approach is to roll a rectangle of paper or card into a tube.

But when your diameter is below about 3mm, it gets tough to roll cardstock.
You can switch to lightweight paper, but unless you roll multiple layers,
its hard to roll smooth, unwrinkled, amd uncrinkled tubes.
And multiple layers are tricky at very small diameters.

One trick I have found is print off my cardstock tube part on lightweight paper
and wrap a single layer around a wooden dowel.
I keep an assortment of wooden dowels ranging from 2.9mm to 9.5mm.
You can sand these down further, knocking off up to 1mm diameter.

But I also keep round wooden Toothpicks, at 1.8mm,
which can easily be sanded down to 1mm diameter.

Trick is to calculate the diameter of the required tube,
and reduce that diameter by the 2xthickness of your paper.
Now sand a dowel to that diameter before you wrap it.

Another imaginative method for tube making, presented on this forum,
is to wrap a long paper strip diagonally around formed wire.
Then coat the outside of the overlapping paper with glue.
Depending on how tightly the wire has been formed, it may be possible to remove it,
leaving just a paper tube.

[looker]

There is a suggestion by Emil Zarkov, with diagram, of a possible method for rolling thin tubes part way down this page
Card Modeling FAQ: 3. How about tips on techniques?
But given the structure of the TDRS-L when deployed I suspect you are going to have to accept the use of a non-paper material, at least for some parts.

[mbauer]

In this thread: A little garden corner

The Author shows how to make a really small shovel handle.

In this thread Lehcyfer shows how to make really small paper tubes: Making smaller tubes

Other methods are also shown.

Gil did one as well but the photos don't show-up any more: Sub 1 mm Paper Tubing

Hope these threads help!

Mike

[hetzer]

use paper. card tubes are difficult to roll if longer. also use graph paper strip and a core (the smallest I used was a dressmakers pin, larges so far 5mm). Cut out a lenght of graph paper and roll on a core and check the diameter to see what length is required. its easy to work out one you've done it. also it is more reliable in terms of support as paper tube does not bend that easily and can be cut in angles after. also glue only the last bit, so if you need you can "extend" the tube by ... pushing inner layers out

[Paper Kosmonaut]

Czech paper model designer J Slavicek has a nice photo tutorial on his site on how to roll "nanotubes" as he calls them. He used this for making the escape tower on a 1/96th Saturn V. So it's all relatively small.

Saturn V paper model (1:96)

Unfortunately, he stopped designing the rest of this very impressive model.

[Dabeer]

Originally Posted by Paper Kosmonaut

Czech paper model designer J Slavicek has a nice photo tutorial on his site on how to roll "nanotubes" as he calls them. He used this for making the escape tower on a 1/96th Saturn V. So it's all relatively small.

Saturn V paper model (1:96)

Unfortunately, he stopped designing the rest of this very impressive model.

Thanks for this - I've been wondering how I'll manage the tubes for my 1/72 Saturn V, hard to believe he did it for 1/96!

Any idea what the "thin strip inserted into the end" is for, other than to be a stopper for the glue that fills the core?