Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan Shelton. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Ryan, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

Our mission is straightforward.

Design, Print and build rockets to reach altitudes no other 3D printed rocket has.
But that is easier said than done.

My interest in Technolgy started at an early age. Around 3 I believe when I saw a train for the first time. The number of moving parts fascinated me beyond belief (it was a steam powered locomotive) and once time had passed, I started developing a fascination and passion for trains, planes, cars and of course rockets.

What brings meaning to our work? Witnessing the innovation our ideas and products have brought to all the individuals who have worked with us.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

While I have been involved in engineering and rocketry for most of my life, things didn’t go beyond just a hobby until I purchased my very first 3d printer in the fall of 2017.

I acquired an incredibly small Monoprice mini and began my journey with Fused Deposition Modeling manufacturing.
At first, I only designed and printed small objects. Phone stands, business card holders, you name it.

It wasn’t until the middle of 2018 that I started playing around with the idea of testing a rocket design. A few prototypes were made with several test launches. They were small 18mm powered rockets that didn’t even have recovery. It was a simple test to see if the materials used would be able to withstand the technical demands of model rocketry.

Two out of three rockets proved successful, and I decided to move forward with the idea/project.

By late summer/early fall of that year the rockets had increased in size. Original prototypes used 18mm while Version 2 ones would use 24mm motors. At first the entire rocket was 3d printed and mono-bodied with a detachable nose cone. Some rockets had two body tubes to increase size while still being able to fit on the printer.

But soon the amount and cost of material being used started to add up. I knew I had to make the same rockets while using less materials.

By winter of 2018 I began tinkering with a multi-piece design.
I split the rocket up into two main sections: Fin-can and Nosecone. I began researching the standards in sizing with the most common and basic model rocket kits on the market. The BT-60 sized rockets were the closest to our own designs in terms of overall size. With some small adjustments we could now utilize a standard BT-60 cardboard tube onto our rockets.

February of 2019 brought major changes. After a lot of research, I went ahead with purchasing another printer. This one was a creality Ender3 PRO. Alot larger than my MPmini, I was able to make larger parts, and more at one time given the size of the printing space was increased in all directions. It was not long after my second printer I realized this was becoming more than just another hobby.

Beginning in the spring of 2019 I started to utilize carbon fiber body tubes in place of the cardboard ones and made the motor chamber even larger allowing 29mm motors to be flown. The results were incredible with altitudes passing 1000ft regularly. Several rockets did experience recovery failure due to the shock cord and fell from these altitudes and yet not one of them required repair after the free fall.

But it wasn’t just the limits that were being pushed, it was also getting fairly expensive by this point.
June 19, 2019, I started looking into small businesses licensing. Money was tight and with it only me running the operations I discovered the sole proprietor LLC category and on June 21st, 2019, I filed for an AZ LLC.

At the time I knew very little about actual business practices, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from funding the projects and goals I put before myself.

By the fall of 2019 I was having mild success selling on Ebay both with my own designs and custom printed ones. It was also around this time my very first printer needed a new mainboard on account of a lightning storm we experienced. Unfortunately, at the time I wasn’t able to track down a new mainboard, so I was down to one printer for several months. After saving up I went and purchased another Ender3 PRO.

Now with two mid-sized printers I could produce double what I had before. From fall 2019-spring 2020 was fairly successful in terms of profit and loss. One of the main costs that was factoring into the production was printer maintenance. Like all things with moving parts things have to be maintained and replaced when needed. The cost of filament was slowly going up and shipping was more costly.

Soon the pandemic caused nearly most if not all sales to stop. While I was an online business, customers still seemed hesitant to buy. I think it was mostly due to people staying in their homes instead of going out and flying rockets. Which I 100% understand.

While sales were low, I shifted from “only rockets” to “rockets and building accessories”. The fin-jig which helps in guiding the fins onto the body tube was fairly popular along with several other pieces, allowing me to keep funding my projects.

Mid-late 2021 I wanted to expand upon my rocketry background and thus I joined the National Assocation of Rocketry.

After joining I learned about the certification levels they offer for High Power Rocketry and upon further research I decided to hold off for a little while on financing a HPR build so I could further my public presences and funding for the business.

By late 2021 early 2022 I started to receive more outside interest in my products and ideas. I decided it was time to expand upon social platforms Facebook, YouTube, Instagram etc.

After a more successful year in 2022 during the start of 2023 with a lot of input both from friends and family and a somewhat stable funding budget I decided it was time to try for my level 1 certification. At this time in mid-2023, I’m currently awaiting the arrival of my H219-T motor for my cert flight.

Our goal is still the same as day one. Push the limits of 3D printing and HPR.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

Definitely social media. Before I started my pages and channels I wasn’t that well known, and while I’m still fairly small I like to think one day we can be just as well-known as others in the space industry.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

At one point I was fully involved with vehicle modification for racing applications. Once I started to realize the shift in the automotive industry, I felt it was time for a change. It was definitely worth it.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://instagram.com/sheltechllc
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShelTechLLC
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sheltechllc
• Other: https://www.ebay.com/usr/sheltechllc https://cults3d.com/en/users/sheltechllc/3d-models

Image Credits
Ryan Shelton.