by SethBon
Bring your Kerbal Space Program rockets to life with these 18 modular rocket parts. Parts are designed to snap together using neodymium magnets to allow you to build and modify your rockets into different designs just like you're in the VAB.
Rocket parts are 1:100 scale to in-game parts, e.g. 2.5m parts in-game are 2.5cm. Want larger pieces to put on display? Check out my 1:50 scale parts.
Parts fit a mixture of 6x2mm, 5x1mm, and 3x1mm neodymium disk magnets. 6mm and 5mm slots have some space left over for a cover plug. 3mm slots don't have cover plugs due to their small size. Magnets and plugs can be glued in place with normal super glue. With the cover plugs in place, the pieces hold together well, but you have to be careful when moving it or you may experience rapid unscheduled disassembly. For a better hold, try placing the plugs underneath and have the magnet exposed, even with the part surface. Or, for a more permanent fit, print the longer plugs to glue two pieces together. See the post-printing section for more details.
STL files are grouped together with related parts but are not necessarily meant to be printed together. Import the STL into your slicer and split the parts to print the pieces in the quantities you want.
Want a part that I am missing? Leave a comment and I'll do my best to try to model that part.
All parts are modeled from scratch in Fusion 360. I made them as detailed and accurate as possible, but some parts required slight modifications to make printing easier.
Printer Brand:
Prusa
Printer:
Resolution:
0.4mm Nozzle, See notes for layer height
Infill:
20%
Notes:
Print settings:
Fuel Tanks - 0.2mm layer height, no supports
Engines - 0.1mm layer height, supports required for suspended portions, detect thin walls, print slow for better quality
Engine Decouplers - 0.15mm layer height, no supports, detect thin walls
Command Pod - 0.15mm layer height or 0.1mm for more detail, no supports
Command Pod Decouplers - 0.15mm layer height, no supports
Solid Booster - 0.2mm layer height, supports required for bottom overhang
Radial Decouplers - 0.1mm layer height, no supports, print slow for better quality, may require a brim
Nose Cone - 0.2mm layer height, no supports
Fairing - 0.2mm layer height, supports required for top of fairing halves
No supports should be required for any of the magnet slots.
Thin plugs should be printed at 0.10mm or even 0.05mm layer height if your printer supports it.
You may need to clean out the magnet slots to make the magnets and plugs fit correctly. Use a knife or drill bit to clean out the slots.
Here are the specific magnets I used:
6x2mm
5x1mm
3x1mm
There are several types of plugs and connectors. I tried to indicate where some of the pieces go by their placement in the STL files. Below are the purposes for each.
3mm x 4.2mm: Permanent attachment for boosters through radial decouplers.
3mm x 2.2mm: Permanent attachment for dual solid booster decouplers.
6mm x 4.8mm: Permanent attachment of two standard pieces, e.g. two tanks, engine and tank.
6mm x 0.4mm: Magnet cover plug for 6mm slots.
5mm x 0.4mm: Magnet cover plug for 5mm slots.
5mm curved: Magnet cover plug for command pod decouplers.
5-6mm x 3.8mm: Permanent attachment for engine/command pod decouplers.
5-6mm x 2.8mm: Permanent attachment used in one place, attaching the command pod and heat shield. Magnets are required in the heat shield in order to attach to the decoupler.
Be careful when gluing the magnets in place to get your polarity right. Have the tops of each piece one direction and the bottoms the other direction so they snap together. Double and triple check before gluing as they will be nearly impossible to remove once dried. Use a metal rod like a drill bit to more easily place the magnets in their slots and press them in place. The single booster radial decouplers require two magnets per slot.
Sand the tops and bottoms of your pieces after gluing in the cover plugs for the best fit between pieces.
