I’ll let others watch the video themselves.
 Aluminum is lighter than carbon fiber but I figured it would bend.
Expensive but it’s really standing up.
 Looks better than I expected.
 

Aluminum BENDS!!! And doesn’t return to its shape.. it stays bent

+1

I agree. There's a good reason why we don't see aluminium frames. It will just be another hype train product. The only suitable metal is titanium but it needs to be the correct grade that is both lightweight and strong (i.e. not the grade that the ZBROY Prometheus frame is made from).

Remember that “un-breakable frame” that bardwell broke??

I didn’t think it through long enough.
It could be bent already and the flight controller will keep it flying fairly true.
Also I wonder how much shock energy gets passed into electronics and camera.

Everything is true... to one degree or another...sort of.

Yes, aluminum will bend if subjected to enough force, but then so will steel.

As for aluminum, it really depends on the alloy. Nothing is made of "pure" aluminum
as it is too "soft" to be usable. Every piece of usable aluminum is actually an alloy 
comprised of aluminum and other metals. The mixture and the tempering process 
determines how strong the resulting "aluminum product" will be. There are semi trailers 
built with aluminum panels and they take quite a beating before they will bend. Aluminum 
is also thought of as having a "dull" appearance, but that is only because those particular 
alloys are dull. When I worked in an aluminum plant, some of the aluminum was so shiny 
(even in billet form) that you could use it as a mirror. 

Yes, if a metal bends it doesn't "bounce" back, but I can be heated and bent;
maybe not quite back into shape...but, maybe; sort of depends on how good you are.  
Materials that break are just broke. Period. 

The frame in the video appears to be machined from a pretty thick piece of aluminum "plate". 
The particular alloy in that plate could actually be pretty strong. Maybe not unbreakable, 
but it might just be stronger than you might think. It will be interesting to see how the
frame actually holds up. In my opinion, it is a better design than that titanium one.

I have thought about using aluminum angle for arms. The angle adds some rigidity to the
piece and is pretty hard to bend; square tube is even stronger. 

The frame is very interesting; certainly not for everybody, but looks pretty good none the less. 

Anyway, just my thoughts about it. 

“… it doesn’t splinter like carbon fiber.. so it’s got that going for it…
If it’s not super crazy expansive… I would see how it likes asphalt and concrete for breakfast, lunch and dinner..

(12-Jun-2022, 01:47 AM)Rob Axel Wrote: “… it doesn’t splinter like carbon fiber.. so it’s got that going for it…
 If it’s not super crazy expansive… I would see how it likes asphalt and concrete for breakfast, lunch and dinner..

Yes, but let's be fair. Take a build with the new aluminum frame and a build 
with a comparable carbon fiber frame...then... drop them both from an altitude 
of 400 feet (122 meters) onto a hardscape...repeatedly until one of them is 
unflyable due to frame damage. 

My money says the aluminum frame does NOT actually "break". It may bend 
which might render it unflyable, but it likely will not actually break. 

The real deal is NOT whether the aluminum frame is undamageable
{because it very likely is unbreakable}, but rather how it COMPARES 
to carbon fiber as a quad building material. Also, is it repairable without
having to buy spare parts. Metals can be bent back into place. You might
have to apply some heat, but is that not better than buying a new part ???

while there are a lot options for improving, there is "gun metal" which "comes back" to its shape after force... while bent back sounds nice, the ability to bent back is what we wont for the rest of the system; flightcontroller work, while betaflight can bring a lot in the air, any stiffness decreasement is an attack for to the work of the flightcontroller. i guess there is nothing else than titanium which could probably provide the abilities for our requirements. carbon is way ahead between abilities and production and prices, availability.

aluminium frames was there, its a thing from fpv history in my eyes. on the otherhand we have a lot aluminium in high quality frames, it can improve in combination. as example the aluminium on a flightclub proton or on a hyperlite frame. there are a lot aluminium tops which have some downsides for cam safety in general but works well for lightweight builds overall.
for aluminum as arm material, i strongly believe aluminium as single material wont fit our requirements anytime.

other examples for the evolution to carbon as material might by bicycle and car industry.
the prices does hold back an evolution with titanuim, it would be very intressting :-) are there still some titanium bicycle or car examples?

there is still some room to improve markets carbon quality, we would need to compare the highest grades of aluminium and carbon from technical focus, on the otherhand we need to compare the actual situation of the market to compare the actual available options.
i guess a step into mass production of moulded carbon would make a huge difference and would be an option about production and value for money with the actual market. im curious why brands like armattan and flightclub still doesnt make any step in that direction.

Any idea on cost? If it’s in the ball park of a decent 5” carbon frame… “I’m your Huckleberry…”.
I’m not going to be able to decimate the differences of flight characteristics.. but i can tell how it holds up to a novice pilot…
$85 and 155g
Fpvcycle glide $45 and 111g
Hmmmmmmm?

The aluminum frame is 99.00 with tpu.
I have a Pyrodrone with aluminum mounting area and the aluminum can act like a heat sink if some paste or a conduit was used.
HYPERLITE FREERANGE 5“
There is another frame I am very curious about and it’s from rubberquads.
The tpu acts like shock absorbers.
When I flew glow fuel planes the vibration and fuel proofing was a requirement of building a model that would last or not go down from radio failure.Electric motors don’t require as much vibration proofing but it doesn’t hurt to eliminate vibration to electronics or cameras.
I may have to try one of these.Very interesting and unusual yet simple.

Well from my perspective, it looks like a pretty good frame. The 7075 alloy is extremely 
strong and is used in Aerospace and aircraft applications among others. The video bears
this out...multiple hard crashes on the hardscape (yeah, concrete and steel) of that bando
with essentially NO damage; the frame did NOT break; everything else did though.  

For me, the cost is reasonable, but the frame is a bit heavy as it would not be suitable for 
a sub-250 gram build...so it will be a "heavy" build which doesn't fit my main focus. But, 
you never know, at some point, I might decide to build one just to see and to have. I have 
just got to find some place where I can fly these big, heavy, birds.

This is also encouraging be to do my own DIY aluminum frame build.   
Yeah, this will have to go on the list, but I will keep it in mind.


KinFPV:  AT6 7075 Aluminum Freestyle Frame Kit. 

Price:  $ 84.99

Frame weight: 155g
Size: 225mm
Lower Base Plate: 2.5mm / 15.9g
Upper Base Plate: 2.5mm / 14.2g
Top Plate: 1.5mm / 11.6g
Arms: 6mm / 25.1g/ea  

Made from 7075 T6 grade aluminum

Is 7075 aluminum stronger than steel?

The most important benefit of 7075 aluminum is its high strength. While it does not have the same level of corrosion resistance or weldability that other common alloys due, its resistance to stress and strain makes it highly useful in aerospace applications where it allows for weight savings over steel.

What is 7075 aluminum alloy used for?

Uses. 7075 is widely used for construction of aircraft structures, such as wings and fuselages. Its strength and light weight are also desirable in other fields. Rock climbing equipment and bicycle components are commonly made from 7075 aluminum alloy.

7075 Aluminum: Get to Know its properties and Uses.

I was one of the biggest ultralight sceptics.

I loved my fleet of 22.2V tough strong 6mm arm power
quads. I bashed them into walls, into MANY street lights, and ofcourse the inevitable natural predator of the drone - the tree.

But then I started trying 5" ultralights. Some frames were super fragile. The plates too thin or M2 screws. What a waste of time.

The ET5 was first to survive repeated failsafes from 100feet onto concrete. I rarely get more than broken prop.. the ultralight quads dont have the mass. Im not saying you should try it. I would NOT recommend it for bando.

155g for 5" frame.. thats a big NO from me.

some stew-science on a titan frame from the past xD

Hi Bat,

Very interesting. I like the video.    

In fact, I like the idea of just making the arms out of metal. I say metal because
the quad in the video had titanium arms while the quad in the OP is aluminum...
and...from that video, the aluminum frame did NOT bend even under repeated
crashes. The two metals are actually quite different, so I am more optimistic
about the aluminum. 

Since I don't have any fancy CNC or other milling machines, I think that I might
try just using aluminum {yeah, just buy some aluminum and machine it myself
with what tools that I have}, then use it for arms paired with either carbon fiber or 
Lexan central frame plates. Maybe a 3 inch