minimilistic quadcopter frame (250/280/350/400/480 sized)

thingiverse

This frame was designed and made while I was also designing my H-copter frame, which had most of my attention at the time. However, it turned out remarkably well over the last couple of days, and I've grown to appreciate and even love it a bit. It's a "no frills" setup where I made no attempt to hide any of the workings of the quad but minimized just how messy things would be. Originally built for my Naze acro FC, which then promptly died right after I got the chance to install it – literally three flights and some acro stuff before it crapped out – it currently has my trusty old QQsuper managing everything. In terms of ability, the FC lacks everything but good solid stable flight and the ability to push the frame to somewhat scary speeds. The frame was a bit of an experiment; I wanted to see what the smallest frame I could make was that still used 10x45 props without overlapping, and 350 is just that – with just five millimeters between blade tips. I've since added arm designs that allow the frame to be adapted to 250, 280, 350, 400, and 480 sizes – all of which use the CF reinforcement setup. The frame is made entirely of PLA (you can use ABS, it works just as well, but there's hardly any benefit to doing so) with only one exception. As anyone who's ever tried designing and printing their own multirotor arms will know, they're hardly ever rugged enough to survive even the lightest knocks, let alone the inevitable heavy landing or headlong suicidal dive. So instead of starting from scratch, I took the DJI standard f450 arm design, chopped off the bits I didn't need or want, and added a square center right along the arm length – which is hollowed out to allow the insertion of an 8mm Carbon tube post-printing. This essentially makes the arms "carbon reinforced." It doesn't just sound cool (and cheap, too – £2 from HK for a 750mm length of CF 8mm tube), it also does a crackin' job of making the arms the toughest ones I've ever used. Yes, I include the original DJI ones in that statement. When the previously mentioned Naze died at around 50 feet in the air above tarmac and came down like a brick straight onto an arm end, as expected it pretty much shattered the arm tip on impact – but shockingly, that was the limit of the damage. A quick two-hour print of a new arm and it was up again on a different FC. Current setup: * Naze/QQsuper FC * 25amp Qbrain * 2015 1000kv (cheapo china motors) * 2200mah 3s (the battery slot is designed for this to fit snugly) * 7ch radiolink rx * 10x45 props Overall weight with everything onboard (inc battery) – 822g. Yes, you read that right... 822g total... and yes, as you can probably guess, with 10x45 props, plenty of power, and so little weight, its thrust capabilities are a bit "brown trouser time" when you first try it out. NB: Designs added for arms with reinforced mount ends (eliminates any "flex" when performing heavy maneuvers) and beefed up the battery holder parts a bit – haven't had any issues with originals but I know not everyone lands as carefully as I tend to. Also, added small feet on their bottoms to further protect the battery from any sharp objects you might try to land on. Print Settings: * Printer: Colido Printrite DIY 3D printer * Rafts: No * Supports: No * Resolution: 0.3 * Infill: 30% Post-Printing: All you need to do is put the 8mm rods together – one long one corner to corner and two half the size for the other arms – and I put it all together with 10x2mm screws which work great on PLA & ABS. Motors will require mounting using the "X" type mounting plates near all motors are supplied with. This was done so I could be sure any motor I used was a guaranteed fit. I also included a design for a motor angling shim that tilts the motors inwards to frame center 6 degrees – this helps shockingly well with stability, even if you hardly ever come out of Acro mode. I forgot to mention... The small angled mounts on the bottom plate are for 12v LEDs if needed for orientation purposes. They could be wired directly into a balance lead plug if needed. The two round "jut outs" on the side of the battery slot front are to allow the use of a rubber band to secure your battery if you're gonna use smaller than a 2200mah 3s or your battery just isn't as snug fitting as mine are.