
Tanky Pod and Quadcopter for FPV Racing - x0054
http://sdbr.net/post/Tanky-Quad/
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asynchronous13
This is a neat idea, but the tradeoff for the added flexibility is extra
weight. In FPV racing, weight is everything.

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baddox
That depends what level of competition you're aiming for. At the highest
levels of competition sure, but the vast majority of people are going to be
limited by time commitment and thus flying ability. If you're not aiming to be
a serious competitor, the weight isn't going to be that much of an issue. Work
on reducing weight when your current quad is bottlenecked by weight rather
than your skill.

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x0054
OP here. The weight is very important to me personally, and I spent a lot of
time trying to shave as much plastic and CF as possible in the design, while
still maintaining rigidity and strength. We are shooting for an all up weight
of under 380 grams. My previous design is all up with 1,200 mAh battery is 452
grams with an HD camera attached.

However, I do agree. Skill and durability are really limiting factors
nowadays, along with maneuverability. In the California Cup races, a few
months back, most races were won by default, by the drone that was simply able
to finish the race. Basically, the problem is, any contact with walls, nets,
or gates currently knocks the drone out of the race. We are working on a few
ideas to address that, to make it a bit more interesting. I'll post some more
info once we have our prototype built.

You can find some updates and latest pics on my wife's Instagram at
[https://www.instagram.com/yukitostudio/](https://www.instagram.com/yukitostudio/)

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asynchronous13
That's surprisingly light! Well done. I happened to fall into a flying group
that is _very_ serious and they obsess about weight. My personal flying skills
are not to the same level, but they are competing in (and winning) several
competitions nationally. They've gotten down to 260g (everything but battery)
with 12:1 thrust to weight ratio. Definitely a racing machine, no bells and
whistles.

I like the idea you've got. How sturdy are the arms? We found with trial and
error that a straight connection between the motors (think an 'X' and a 'box'
overlayed) really improved crash durability.

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x0054
I am guessing you are talking about Bolt XBR? It's a very awesome frame! I was
considering adding webs for reinforcement, and may still add them as an
optional extra bolted under the main frame in the front and the back. But the
durability should be solid, of course I don't want to say much before I test
it properly, I have a motto of under-promise and over-deliver :)

What I really wanted to concentrate on in this design is thrust path for the
motors. Bolt is pretty good about this, but still not ideal. Many other frames
really don't take this into consideration at all. But if you have a prop that
develops 1,000g of thrust, but well over 30% or more of the area under the
prop is blocked by the body of the quad and the arms, you are not really
getting 1,000g of thrust at all. This is also my main objection to tilt rotor
designs. I tried to slim down the arms as much as possible while maintaining
rigidity, and still being able to place ESCs in the thrust path to keep them
cool. Again, I don't want to say much until I build a few final design
prototypes and test them though :)

If you would like, could you send me an email through my blog. I would love to
talk to you more, perhaps see if guys from your group would want to test a
prototype when I have a few done.

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samstave
You should see if Steve Doll from hovership would like to collaborate on this.
Pm me and I'll connect you over email.

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natewevans
Nice work! What are you modeling in? Any in-flight beta units of with video?
Once you're considering a couple of beta units you might consider RTV molding.

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x0054
I am modeling in AutoCAD for Mac, which is quite annoying, because, by
comparison to the Windows copy, the Mac copy lacks proper materials facility
and a lot of other features. Even basic stuff, such as Copy to Layer. But oh
well, such is life. AutoCAD is what I know :)

No beta units yet. My previous source for carbon fiber CNC production is out
of that business. We just acquired an X-Carve CNC machine, so I'll be starting
on cutting the frames as soon as the holidays are over. I have a previous
design which has a similar layout, but this should be lighter, and about 25%
more thrust, so it will be very fun.

As for RTV, I have to research that. I really like the toughness and finish of
the nylon parts from Shapeways, but the price point for them is insane. It's
fine for prototypes, but for production I would love to do injection nylon
plastic. I never done anything like that though, so it will be interesting to
research and do.

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rebootthesystem
Be VERY CAREFUL cutting carbon fiber on a router. You do not want that stuff
in your lungs, eyes or electronics.

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x0054
Yeah, I am. I am designing a vacuum system for the X-Casrve CNC. CF dust is
really bad for electronics and your health, as you mentioned it. My vacuum
will have a filter and outlet to the outside.

