18-Mar-2022, 02:20 AM
Disclaimer: I have an education from YouTube. I am going to be doing things with carbon fiber that I am not qualified to do. In fact, if you want to learn anything, please stop reading, this project is literally a waste of time. Lots of this stuff kills you so dont do this. Thank you.
I have a 3 inch basher quad. Cheap motors, Jhemcu aio, $13 amazon frame (dont know what Chinese copy of what) and a thingiverse canopy that I have cracked two of. My 3d printer is down and my jhemcu ghf411 (I think) isn't connecting (anyone know anyone that does electronics repairs, please lemme know) so I am waiting on a new board. As I am waiting on a new board and had to disassemble, I thought I would try to "upgrade" the canopy to be stronger. Again, I am not a good pilot and the quad is overweight.
I also have a good frame idea that I am gonna play with but I am waiting on supplies. More on that later. So then I thought "why not get a carbon fiber canopy?". Google shows none. If y'all know where a carbon fiber whoop canopy is, please tell me. Seems like a hole in the market to me that you dont see it more, considering rc people buy every gadget out there. I guess plastic is lighter and good enough.
So I thought "lets try to make one" and here we are. Again, I have no idea what I am doing so feel free to chirp in with any and all criticism and advice. This build will take a bit as most stuff I need is en route. If people want to know the frame as this is a "build" I will check my email it. The motors are HGLRC Flame 1407 3600 kv (aka, what I had on my desk that fit) that I run 3 inch on 4s 450 to 650. I hear the frame will run 3.5 but I haven't tried. Vista is not de-cased though I should cuz its AUW was like 148 I think. But I have the reaction speed of a 90 year old man that just had his first edible, so lightning quick is not my need. This is why I am going with carbon fiber. The print design is great, but I trim a lot of trees in my yard with my quad and plastic isn't holding up. Also, in AZ you either land on rocks, concrete or smaller rocks.
As I am making a mold, you could easily order canopy online for a few bucks and do the same thing if you dont own 3d printer. Also, to keep cost down, I ordered online samples of carbon fiber fabric. They are (I think) 4 inch by 6 inch for about $3 each. I am also going to imbed m2 standoffs into the canopy. My goal for this build isn't lightweight, I am already slinging a caddx that isn't decased. The carbon is simply for fun and durability and I thought standoffs imbedded should hold up. Looks and weight aren't on the list.
Cost so far if you had none of this in your house: about $10 for a canopy, $10 for condo or you could likely tape your holes, you're just making a mold.
You can see I won't be saving weight or anything notable. Replacing 7 grams
Filled it with garbage, hot glue and then I eyeballed the fillers hardener mixture percentage, resulting in it stiffening up FAST so I just started slapping it on. LOLOL
Belt sander and die grinder with abrasive pad in front of shop fan because sandpaper is slow.
Did that two x to fill in gaps. Its smooth enough for me. If someone wanted a beautiful mold and shine, then there would be much much more care into this part of the process. I can't see the canopy when I am flying so I dont care.
Here is after more sanding and it sitting next to the frame and the other canopy. I am waiting on a brain that is 3 to 10 business days away. I ordered silicone, but saw a vid where I may try to make my own out of tube silicone and acetone. If I do I will doc it.
Finally I wanted a one time mold. If I ever get serious about this and want several made with a better surface I would have tried harder. Instead, I grabbed some cut offs from the garbage, my 18 gauge nailer and my hot glue gun. Mold done! This demonstrates you could use a cardboard box and Saran Wrap.
I will post more as parts arrive.
I have a 3 inch basher quad. Cheap motors, Jhemcu aio, $13 amazon frame (dont know what Chinese copy of what) and a thingiverse canopy that I have cracked two of. My 3d printer is down and my jhemcu ghf411 (I think) isn't connecting (anyone know anyone that does electronics repairs, please lemme know) so I am waiting on a new board. As I am waiting on a new board and had to disassemble, I thought I would try to "upgrade" the canopy to be stronger. Again, I am not a good pilot and the quad is overweight.
I also have a good frame idea that I am gonna play with but I am waiting on supplies. More on that later. So then I thought "why not get a carbon fiber canopy?". Google shows none. If y'all know where a carbon fiber whoop canopy is, please tell me. Seems like a hole in the market to me that you dont see it more, considering rc people buy every gadget out there. I guess plastic is lighter and good enough.
So I thought "lets try to make one" and here we are. Again, I have no idea what I am doing so feel free to chirp in with any and all criticism and advice. This build will take a bit as most stuff I need is en route. If people want to know the frame as this is a "build" I will check my email it. The motors are HGLRC Flame 1407 3600 kv (aka, what I had on my desk that fit) that I run 3 inch on 4s 450 to 650. I hear the frame will run 3.5 but I haven't tried. Vista is not de-cased though I should cuz its AUW was like 148 I think. But I have the reaction speed of a 90 year old man that just had his first edible, so lightning quick is not my need. This is why I am going with carbon fiber. The print design is great, but I trim a lot of trees in my yard with my quad and plastic isn't holding up. Also, in AZ you either land on rocks, concrete or smaller rocks.
As I am making a mold, you could easily order canopy online for a few bucks and do the same thing if you dont own 3d printer. Also, to keep cost down, I ordered online samples of carbon fiber fabric. They are (I think) 4 inch by 6 inch for about $3 each. I am also going to imbed m2 standoffs into the canopy. My goal for this build isn't lightweight, I am already slinging a caddx that isn't decased. The carbon is simply for fun and durability and I thought standoffs imbedded should hold up. Looks and weight aren't on the list.
Cost so far if you had none of this in your house: about $10 for a canopy, $10 for condo or you could likely tape your holes, you're just making a mold.
You can see I won't be saving weight or anything notable. Replacing 7 grams
Filled it with garbage, hot glue and then I eyeballed the fillers hardener mixture percentage, resulting in it stiffening up FAST so I just started slapping it on. LOLOL
Belt sander and die grinder with abrasive pad in front of shop fan because sandpaper is slow.
Did that two x to fill in gaps. Its smooth enough for me. If someone wanted a beautiful mold and shine, then there would be much much more care into this part of the process. I can't see the canopy when I am flying so I dont care.
Here is after more sanding and it sitting next to the frame and the other canopy. I am waiting on a brain that is 3 to 10 business days away. I ordered silicone, but saw a vid where I may try to make my own out of tube silicone and acetone. If I do I will doc it.
Finally I wanted a one time mold. If I ever get serious about this and want several made with a better surface I would have tried harder. Instead, I grabbed some cut offs from the garbage, my 18 gauge nailer and my hot glue gun. Mold done! This demonstrates you could use a cardboard box and Saran Wrap.
I will post more as parts arrive.