Smart 90 Quad Mods

thingiverse

If you've invested in a Smart 90 quad copter, my sympathies are with you. For those who remain blissfully unaware of what this quad is like, consider yourself lucky. It's not a complete disaster, but it's certainly disappointing. Nevertheless, the price tag was relatively low - $20 to be exact, or at least that's what Hobbyking had it listed for when they still had stock. Still, it does offer some valuable flying lessons and can help you get familiar with Betaflight. Those of you who have taken the plunge and bought a Smart 90 know there's room for improvement. While these 3D printed parts may not turn this quad into something amazing in anyone's eyes, they do raise the bar. Included in this package is a camera mount designed specifically for the FPV cam and 3D printable spacers that can be used with M2 or M3 bolts. After a less-than-graceful landing number three, my Smart 90 ejected its camera. The reason behind this was the quad's design flaw - the camera is wedged between two carbon fiber plates and not properly secured. The 3D printable mount addresses this issue by allowing the camera to slide in smoothly, securing it with a touch of hot glue. Additionally, the camera mount elevates the camera 15° to the horizontal plane. In addition to the camera problem, I quickly noticed that the screws used to hold the frame together were plastic and stripped as soon as they could from the original nylon standoffs. To resolve this issue, I replaced them with two M2x20 bolts, two M2x16 bolts, four M2 washers and nuts, and printed out the M2 spacers to secure everything in place. This setup works much better and hasn't caused any further issues. The included M3 spacers are designed for use with M3 hardware, but I think it's safe to say that M3 hardware would only add unnecessary weight to this already underpowered quad.