Making a part?

[Jorvalt]

So, I know you guys probably get this question a lot, but how do you make a part? I want to know how I can convert a .dae file into a KSP part, you know with the .mu and .mbm files and such. I also want to know if it's possible to make a thruster that requires only one resource. For example, a thruster that relies solely on ElectricCharge. And don't question the ability of nearly massless particles to produce thrust, just give me an answer.

Sincerely,

Jorvalt

[hoojiwana]

Go and take a look through some of the links in this thread here. There are some basic guides on how to get started on making parts.

For the engine question, I believe you can make an engine that runs on a single resource, although I don't think you can make one that runs solely on ElectricCharge. I may be wrong on that front however.

[ialdabaoth]

I believe the problem with making an engine that runs entirely on ElectricCharge, is that its Isp would have to be infinite, since ElectricCharge is massless.

(this *is* theoretically possible, btw - it's called a photon drive, and they typically have INCREDIBLY low thrust, but near-infinite Isp. By incredibly low, I mean that its thrust is orders of magnitude less than an Ion engine.)

[ghost010]

i tryd to make a electriccharge only engine,ended up making my EMSP mod.

if you find 3D modeling a step to high,try using the part generator and edit the CFG files first.

[EndlessWaves]

On the other hand if you mean RCS thrusters than they should work fine, it's only ModuleEngines that may be an issue because it calculates fuel use by mass.

[Jorvalt]

Go and take a look through some of the links in this thread here. There are some basic guides on how to get started on making parts.

For the engine question, I believe you can make an engine that runs on a single resource, although I don't think you can make one that runs solely on ElectricCharge. I may be wrong on that front however.

How do you make an engine that runs on ElectricCharge then? I don't seem to know the right parameters. If I try to make an engine with just 1 propellant it won't work at all.

[EndlessWaves]

How do you make an engine that runs on ElectricCharge then? I don't seem to know the right parameters. If I try to make an engine with just 1 propellant it won't work at all.

Have a look at the ion engine config, that uses one propellant and electric charge.

[Jorvalt]

Have a look at the ion engine config, that uses one propellant and electric charge.

I had already tried modifying the ion engine config to have just ElectricCharge as propellant, but it wouldn't work. It would not produce any thrust whatsoever because it said it had no ElectricCharge, even if I had batteries and solar panels.

[EndlessWaves]

As hoojiwana said, ModuleEngines doesn't seem to support running on purely massless resources because fuel consumption is specified in mass flow rate (ISP). It'll run on a single non-massless resource and it'll consume massless resources alongside a non-massless resource it can use ISP for.

If you want to produce throttle dependant thrust from electricity alone you're probably looking at a custom plugin.

[Jorvalt]

Or I could possibly create a custom resource with more mass. But if it's dependant on mass then why can you set the minthrust and maxthrust?

[aquilux]

Aren't minthrust and maxthrust throttle percentages? If that's the case then it's because they'll be used for more realistic engines (most real engines can't throttle down past some absurdly high value, like 68% or something like that. In fact, if I remember it right, the apollo LM return engines couldn't ever go down to 95% if anything at all or something like that. If not that, then it's probably the old engine module that they left to allow for backwards compatibility with old parts.

[EndlessWaves]

Or I could possibly create a custom resource with more mass. But if it's dependant on mass then why can you set the minthrust and maxthrust?

Because in game the effects of ISP are applied to fuel consumption and not thrust.