When it comes to frames, 90% of their function is to rigidly hold the motors out in space. Secondarily they house or hold electronics. I break frames quickly, mostly because I’m a risky pilot, so it pains me to spend upwards of $100 on a quality frame – even if it will last me.
Trolling thinkiverse, I came across this frame: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1276783 Fully built with some modifications, my latest quad looks like this.
Weighing in at just shy of 400 grams fully fueled, this is the most powerful thrust to weight quad I’ve built.
Specs:
- 12A Blueseries BLHeli ESC
- EMAX 2204 motors
- 5×4.5 props
- Naze32 FC Betaflight 2.8.1
- Runcam Sky+ video
- Orange DSMX RX
- 200ma VTX
The connector parts from the thingiverse project are 3D printed. The arms are carbon fiber rods from Amazon, https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018VO5AQA and https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UKNIL08 Total there is about $25-$30 invested parts for the frame.
The epoxy to bond the carbon fiber rods to the 3D parts is critical. Use JB Weld ClearWeld http://www.jbweld.com/products/clearweld-syringe I first used my go to glue, polyurethane Gorilla Glue, which was a disastrous failure. The bonds broke on the first test-flight, hurling the quad into an oscillating out of control crash into the neighbors driveway.
The camera mod is the brainchild of a coworker who thought the camera would be better protected inside the blade arc. It does work well, even if the blades do show in the FPV video. What it does do is free up real estate on top for a proper GoPro mount.
Flight Notes
With stock PIDs, there is some bounce on snap rolls. Easily tuneable. Help from the forums seem to say I should both raise and lower P, add and remove D, double and halve I, and both use TPA and disable TPA.
Despite not being “locked in”, I have a lot of control with the available thrust. With many quads, I’m unable to recover from a reasonable dive. But with this one, with the 4S power behind it, it can recover from a long freefall without any difficulty and punch-out over the tallest trees with ease.
The props visible in the FPV video is strange at first, but you get used to it. It looks like any other spinning prop on video where it occasionally syncs with video causing the blade to stop and spin backward. Without moving the camera, it’s just going to be what it is.
The only change I’ll make is to add a platform for a GoPro, and purchase some tri-blade 5″ props. If I were to build another, I might make the carbon fiber tubes a little longer to either accommodate 6″ props or to give a little more breathing room around the electronics.
quadyearbook 