Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 03-Apr-2017, 07:30 PM (This post was last modified: 02-May-2017, 11:43 PM by unseen.) I finally received all the parts that I should have received on Friday if the postal service here weren't a bunch of lazy shiftless liars. Here's the fun things that arrived: Anyone care to hazard a guess as to the frame these are for? The only prize I can offer for a correct guess is that you're more than welcome to have a fly of the finished craft if you happen to be in Stockholm some day. • Posts: 1,773 Threads: 30 Likes Received: 1,199 in 755 posts Likes Given: 714 Joined: Oct 2016 Reputation: 45 ZMR 150? hahaha. Never mind, props won't fit Posts: 2,410 Threads: 136 Likes Received: 1,790 in 1,052 posts Likes Given: 3,302 Joined: Jan 2017 Reputation: 50 03-Apr-2017, 10:46 PM (This post was last modified: 03-Apr-2017, 10:49 PM by Drone0fPrey.) Well i dont know of a two motor frame Nor will I ever make it to Stockholm probably. So if you ever end up in Ohio.... Bring your quad anyways Anxiously awaiting the creation of your new baby MONSTER! Those motors are sexy as hell! Really cant wait to see and hear it scream! Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 04-Apr-2017, 06:29 AM (This post was last modified: 04-Apr-2017, 06:29 AM by unseen.) There are four motors there... Anyway, the frame is a bit special, to say the least... The SwiftBlade 250 by FlightWorks of Sweden. It's made from 7075-T6 aircraft grade aluminium alloy! As an all metal frame, it is a little heavier than carbon fibre coming in at 163g for the bare frame. There are some advantages though... - The arms are open and don't waste any thrust.
- PDB not needed - ground everything to the frame!
- It looks really, really cool!
The guy who designed the frame is a commercial pilot and flies 737 aircraft as his day job and I think some of that experience shows in the design of the frame. It's supposed to be built with everything fitted between the two lower plates, leaving the space between the upper and lower plates for the battery. This will put the bulk of the final weight on the same plane as the propellers for excellent handling. I'm not 100% sure where everything will go at the moment, but I'll be starting to dry fit all the parts this evening. I would have loved to put the Betaflight F3 flight controller on this, but the rather unusual microSD card connector on the BFF3 makes it a little bit too tall to fit between the lower plates. The Lux V2 fits in there with room to spare though. Given the heavier frame, I reckon that these monster motors and 6040 props will be a good match for it. I'll keep this thread updated as the build progresses!
This is the designer's build: Posts: 2,416 Threads: 51 Likes Received: 1,861 in 1,175 posts Likes Given: 3,315 Joined: Mar 2016 Reputation: 74 04-Apr-2017, 10:01 AM (This post was last modified: 04-Apr-2017, 10:02 AM by sloscotty.) Sick!! (No, really - Really Sick!!!) Posts: 1,773 Threads: 30 Likes Received: 1,199 in 755 posts Likes Given: 714 Joined: Oct 2016 Reputation: 45 Epic! You MUST polish it before the build to get the full effect. Dirty, tedious job but it will be well worth it. Here's an example of a before and after Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 Oooo! That looks nice! What are you polishing with? • Posts: 1,773 Threads: 30 Likes Received: 1,199 in 755 posts Likes Given: 714 Joined: Oct 2016 Reputation: 45 I used a 3M polishing kit. Problem is it's super expensive ($125) but I stumbled across it on a clearance sale. Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 I guess I need to start with probably 600 grit wet sandpaper and then follow up with a polishing mop and red, followed by white polishing compound. The surface from the casting isn't too bad, so it shouldn't take days of work to get it looking good. I also need to do some work on the cut-outs for the motor screws as the finishing on them isn't particularly good and there's a bit of flashing left on some of them. Still, that's not a big deal as they will be hidden by the motors. A mirror finish would look dead cool. Posts: 1,773 Threads: 30 Likes Received: 1,199 in 755 posts Likes Given: 714 Joined: Oct 2016 Reputation: 45 Yep, should be well worth the effort. Can't wait to see the final results • Posts: 2,410 Threads: 136 Likes Received: 1,790 in 1,052 posts Likes Given: 3,302 Joined: Jan 2017 Reputation: 50 Posts: 125 Threads: 12 Likes Received: 86 in 45 posts Likes Given: 52 Joined: Jan 2017 Reputation: 8 I would love to see some 1:1 data comparing the aluminium frame to a carbon one. I have always wondered how much thrust is wasted on the carbon frame arms • Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 So, with a long weekend and my youngest daughter away at her mother's place for a few days, I decided to get building the SwiftBlade! In the end, I decided against polishing the frame. I think if I did polish it, I'd be scared of getting it scratched, and we all know the punishment our quads get subjected to in crashes and rough landings, so I'm keeping the industrial look. The first task was to extend the motor wires. Unlike just about every other motor I've bought, the EMax 2306 motor's leads are too short for this build where the ESCs will be in the body of the quad. All done! I finally worked out how to cut cable sleeving without having it fray at the ends as soon as you try to put some wires in it. All I did was stretch some resistance wire between a couple of screws in some wood: Once connected to my bench power supply, 10V at 2.5A heated the wire to just less than red hot and cut through the sleeving like a knife through butter while sealing the cut ends at the same time. Next step was adding the ESCs and connecting them and other required cables to the flight controller. (Sorry for the poor focus, I only noticed it after moving on to the next step.) As the flight controller is going to be taped to the lower plate with nothing to protect it from the metal plate above it, I decided it would be a good idea to apply conformal coating to the flight controller at this point. So I masked off the boot button and USB socket on the top and the microSD card socket on the bottom. Here, the first coat on the top of the board has now dried and I'm just about to apply a second coat. More photos to come as the build progresses! Posts: 2,286 Threads: 38 Likes Received: 1,527 in 995 posts Likes Given: 1,881 Joined: Apr 2016 Reputation: 72 Finally, the conformal coating has dried, so it's time to start getting all the power connected. I've stuck the flight controller to the frame on two layers of double sided sticky foam tape and I've got the negative battery lead and ESC negatives connected to the cut off ring connectors that will earth everything to the frame. Next, the common positive. There's a lot of wires that need to come together, so I hope I can do a neat and tidy job that's also thin enough. Posts: 2,410 Threads: 136 Likes Received: 1,790 in 1,052 posts Likes Given: 3,302 Joined: Jan 2017 Reputation: 50 30-Apr-2017, 06:46 PM (This post was last modified: 30-Apr-2017, 06:50 PM by Drone0fPrey.) Looking great man! You may have to purposely blur the photos as it comes together... Or add a parental warning As for cable sleeving, I bust out the archaic fire maker. Going to have to try your method soon. I have loads of kanthal in my vape drawer • |