Design and fabrication device for determine Mass and Center of gravity of GRAD rocket

Abstract

This paper describes the design and fabrication of a device measuring mass properties include mass, the center of gravity, and moment of inertias properties by integrating three operations into one equipment device for the object GRAD rocket. This paper focuses only on measuring mass and center of gravity in a single setup. The design is dividing into three steps. The first step is to explain how to measure the mass and center of gravity. The second step is the design and fabrication considerations of the equipment device. In the third step, the data acquisition systems for load cell using PLC. Test results of fabricated devices on a calibrated bar are homogeneity, and its center of gravity is also known. The mass and center of gravity of the GRAD rocket are a measure for three samples. And the results were within the required tolerance with high accuracy compared to CAD software, and the results achieved a percentage error rate of less than 5% for both the mass and center of gravity.