FPV Drone 5" X Frame 240mm for Racing and Acro, hobby builders

thingiverse

I'm a novice drone pilot who prefers creating my own frame instead of purchasing carbon fiber. This is my eighth design of 3D printed drone frames, and I am extremely confident in it. I use this drone for acro flying and racing. Although I've only been flying for a few months, I crash frequently, but so far I haven't broken a single arm on this version. I would love to see people try this frame and let me know what they think of it and how I can improve it. I printed mine in PLA, but only because I ran out of ABS. I highly recommend using ABS for this frame because it's stronger and less brittle, although I've had success with PLA as well. The frames are designed to be printed with thick walls (I used 3.2mm) and around 30-50% infill (I used 45%) and a triangle infill pattern. You can print everything else at 100% infill except the bottom plate, which doesn't need to withstand a lot of force. You might be able to reduce the weight by printing it with less infill. The frame alone weighs 292 grams including the nuts and bolts. This is probably the biggest reason people don't use 3D printed frames because some carbon fiber weighs less than 100 grams. In order to make a 3D printed frame crash-resistant, it has to be a lot bulkier. But I've never flown with carbon fiber so I don't know what I'm missing. Most of the weight is in the arms, but I'm sure there are things I could do to reduce the weight. I use an over-slung battery which I found has the best center of gravity in line with the front propellers. It also has slots for two Velcro straps which is nice. I also glue Velcro to the tops of my batteries because without them, the batteries can slide out the front in a crash. My setup includes: * FPV camera: https://www.banggood.com/600TVL-2_8mm-Lens-13-Sony-Super-Had-II-CCD-Camera-for-FPV-Racing-Drone-PALNTSC-p-1086784.html?utm_campaign=5635792_1001216&utm_content=1081&p=CG24181822629201506N&ID=44069&cur_warehouse=CN * ESCs: https://www.emaxmodel.com/formula-45a.html * Motors: https://www.pmhobbycraft.ca/emax-emx-rs2306-2750kv-motors.html * PDB: https://www.pmhobbycraft.ca/emax-emx-5v-12v-power-dist-board.html * FC: https://www.pmhobbycraft.ca/emax-emx-f4-magnum-tower-parts-f4-flight-controlle.html * VTX: https://www.banggood.com/Matek-5-8G-40CH-25200500mW-switchable-Video-Transmitter-VTX-HV-with-5V1A-BEC-Output-for-RC-FPV-Racing-Drone-p-1175514.html?utm_campaign=5635792_1001216&utm_content=1081&p=CG24181822629201506N&cur_warehouse=CN * Receiver: https://www.banggood.com/Frsky-XM-Micro-D16-SBUS-Full-Range-Receiver-Up-to-16CH-p-1110020.html?utm_campaign=5635792_1001216&utm_content=1081&p=CG24181822629201506N&cur_warehouse=CN * Radio: https://www.banggood.com/FrSky-ACCST-Taranis-Q-X7-2_4GHz-16CH-Transmitter-White-Black-p-1112717.html?utm_campaign=5635792_1001216&utm_content=1081&p=CG24181822629201506N&ID=42482229&cur_warehouse=CN * FPV goggles: https://www.banggood.com/Eachine-Goggles-Two-5-Inches-5_8G-40CH-Raceband-HD-1080p-HDMI-FPV-Goggles-Video-Glasses-p-1094862.html?cur_warehouse=CN