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bhunt2 / QC1.0

Design, documentation, and code for our first quadcopter
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Drone arm tube #19

Closed bhunt2 closed 8 years ago

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

During a flight test the arm was broken and as there is no spare for this it needs to be replaced. Please provide the necessary information to do so.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36 If I remember correctly that quadcopter is a Tarot kit. The spare parts can be purchased as a whole new frame with the rods or you can purchase new rods. You need to make sure that the size matches exactly or there will be issues with balance, but I am sure you know that.

Next time please follow my recommendation and stake the quadcopter down during test flights until you have a good understanding of how to fly it. The idea is to just give it enough length to be able come off the ground and then move around a bit, so only 6 to 8 feet of length is normally sufficient. This will prevent major damage such as this. The frame and arms are fairly durable, so it would have needed to be a hard hit to cause that to break.

Also, would you please post current pictures of the quadcopter here in regards to the issue?

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Here is the picture of current drone. The tube has masking tape wrapping about to prevent further damage.

img_20160402_101915

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36

Thanks for getting this up here so quick. I have a few questions for you about the setup as this is the first time I have seen it up close since you put it together.

  1. Did the propellers break as well?
  2. Are you using the flight controller mount that I provided, because it doesn't seem like it is even attached to the frame by anything?
  3. Where is the GPS arm?
  4. Are the receiver and receiver antenna attached to the frame?
  5. Are you keeping the battery fully charged for storage after each use?

Let me know if you have any issues finding the parts you need.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago
  1. The edge of the propeller was damaged, but not broken.
  2. We did tried to use flight controller mount, but ran into some problems:
    • The wires to ESCs were not long enough.
    • We use straight headers instead of right angle headers, and it didn't fit in.
    • It was easier to use the double sided tape since we have to take it in and out with the problems we had at the beginning.

However, we plan to use the mount again since the drone is flying now.

  1. The GPS arm broke awhile back (maybe during sprint 2 period). I didn't know how it broke.
  2. Receiver and receiver antenna are attached to the frame the same way as how flight to controller got attached to the board: double sided tape. There were no problems yet whatsoever.
  3. I have charged the battery about 3 or 4 times already. First couple of times, I charged it a little over 3.7V for each cell, and it only took about 15 minutes to charge, but battery was good for 5-10 minutes fly-time. The last time I changed (4 days ago) the battery up to 3.86V for each cell, and there was no indication of full (expected the charger would prompt that the battery is fully charged). The battery was good for more than 10 minutes fly-time, and still running fine.

About arm-tube, I found this part on Amazon and it should work: http://www.amazon.com/Tarot-Carbon-Fiber-323mm-TL68B09-02/dp/B00UH4XRSQ?ie=UTF8&psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

I looked at some local stores, but they don't carry this specific type. I am still looking.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

Please update the issue stating what you told me in the meeting on Wednesday and if anything has changed.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

I have ordered the carbon tube on Amazon (link above). The tube size is 16 x 14 x 323mm. The size of the arm is about 100mm last time I measured and the diameters are matched with the current tube. It shows that the tube will be here from April 14 to 26, but often time items arrive earlier that what they list. What to do with the tube:

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

There is a drill press in the LID and people that can help you get it done right.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

Please update this issue if you have any problems getting the part done and if everything works out fine, please close this issue.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

I have talked to LID, and I can't cut carbon fiber tube in there since it's too dusty and hazardous since the dust could get in your lungs. They suggested to use hex saw with think blade or dremel which I don't have any of the tools.

Couple options to get this done:

I have couple of friends who might have the tools. I will ask them to borrow the tool. Also, I will contact the rocket club to get access and permission to their lab. Worst case, buy the tools.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Last night I took ESCs, arm tube, brackets and all the parts that attached to the arm and make the measurements to get ready for cutting. During the process, I tried to put the bracket in the new tube because the new tube looks and feels thicker than the old one, but the bracket won't fit. I borrowed a caliber from a friend and made some measurements. The size of the new tube is close to advertise: 16.2mm X 14.1mm for the outer and inner diameter, so the thickness is close to 2mm. The older tube however, turned out to be thinner 15.7mm X 14.51mm. Old tube thickness would be close to 1.2mm.

I did a search on tarot parts this morning, but I haven't found any 16mm X 15mm or 16mm outer diameter with 1mm or 1.5mm thickness.

There couple of things that I will do next:

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36 Please provide the exact length of the arm.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

The length of the broken arm is 150mm.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

is it the outer diameter, inner diameter that is incompatible or both?

would you please provide pics of the break and assembly, including pics of the old tube in the brackets? On Apr 23, 2016 12:25 PM, "hautruong36" notifications@github.com wrote:

The length of the broken arm is 150mm.

— You are receiving this because you were assigned. Reply to this email directly or view it on GitHub https://github.com/bhunt2/QC1.0/issues/19#issuecomment-213659319

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

Also, the quadcopter is actually an Xaircraft 650, not a Tarot. They are out of the UK at http://www.xaircraft.co.uk/. I have contacted them and am waiting to hear back about measurements as they aren't on the website. They have a kit of extra parts that is available as well.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Here is the picture of the new and old tube side by side.

img_20160424_164746

Here is the picture of the bracket fitting the old tube. img_20160424_165002

There is workaround that I am going to try that is filing the inside of new tube to make thinner.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36

Go ahead and try out that fix, but please provide me with the clear pictures of the original equipment put together without the tape on the broken piece. I need close ups of the tube in the brackets if possible please. Also, it would be helpful to have more details about what exactly is incompatible as I had asked for previously.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Here are some more pictures:

img_20160425_131546

img_20160425_131536

img_20160425_131458

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Old tube inner diameter: 14.5mm New tube inner diameter: 14mm

The brackets go inside the tube on both side

Brackets does fit the new tube

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36

What about the ESC/motor mount? Does it fit around the new tube?

  1. The inner bracket is for strengthening the tube and may not be necessary with the thicker wall of the new tube.
  2. You could try sanding the inner wall of the new tube to make it thinner but that is a dangerous option because you can't make it very uniform and it would be easy to make a mistake.
  3. Attach everything to the old arm and use fiberglass sheets to fix it. The kits for doing that kind of thing are at Home Depot or auto parts stores. It would be a lightweight fix that should provide enough strength and flexibility to be safe.
hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

Tube was cut on Friday by a table saw with fine blade. I also used dremel, drill press, filers. The part that took a long time was filing tube and bracket. After a lot of effort, and force and hammer, I got it fit in. Assemble it back to the drone, and it looks fine. I will upload a picture and fly it when I get the old flip from Sabin. If everything works out fine, I will close this issue.

bhunt2 commented 8 years ago

@hautruong36

Please update on whether the test flight went ok and close this if it is done.

hautruong36 commented 8 years ago

We can close this. Test flight went OK.