Folding Tricopter (WIP)

thingiverse

This is a (as of November 2018) unfinished version of my 3D printed folding RC tricopter. It's based off of Michael Erwin's great tricopter design from which I slowly swapped parts with ones I designed myself: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:486465 It features 30x30 mounting hole compatible with most major FC boards and enough vertical space to supposedly fit a PDB/FC combo with vertical connectors (though you likely need the short ones, I can modify parts upon request to add extra space). The frame can be a bit heavy which will probably eat into your flight time, but I will slowly be carving into the frame walls to reduce weight without sacrificing too much structural integrity. The tail mount I think is the main advantage of this design as it holds the tail motor much more snugly and requires only direct mechanical linkage from a 9g servo (use a metal-geared one) which leaves a lot less wiggle in the entire assembly. You just need a bunch of M4 bolts and nuts and a tiny bit of piano wire (~1cm) to put it together, as well as some 15.5x15.5mm square bars (I recommend aluminum but wood will likely work as well, the length of the spars I kinda eyeballed, maybe change the length depending on weight distribution). Might also want a few pins to lock the hatches shut and to stop the battery compartment from sliding out (you'll probably have to sand the small bits sticking out, it's meant to be a real snug fit). Feel free to leave a comment if you want any modifications made. This is still a work in progress so some of the parts are either still in the design process or in need of redesign. Parts should be compatible with Michael Erwin's Design so you can just mix and match for the time being. Read more about this project on my website: https://blog.cfoyer.com Or just look at pictures on imgur: https://imgur.com/a/Cr491