Yuneec Q500 generic battery adapter

thingiverse

This adapter lets generic lipo batteries fit into Yuneec Q500 series quadcopters with ease. To get this done, you'll need an EC3 female connector to connect inside the drone, some wire, a soldering iron, glue/epoxy, velcro strip and adhesive backed velcro, and a connector for your battery unless you cut off its original connector in favor of the EC3. The adapter holds the generic battery inside the normal battery bay with the battery door left open. Adhesive velcro is attached to the outside of the quad, while a velcro strip keeps the batter in place during flight by going through the slot at the back of the adapter. My 6000mAh HRB battery measures about 26.5mm tall, 48.6mm wide and 156mm long, plus the wires sticking out. This specific battery is an HRB brand, but its format is very common, so sizes from other brands should be similar. It has no hard shell, just shrink wrapped lipo cells. The EC3 connector is glued in place inside the adapter. I made sure to dry fit the EC3 shell without the copper to see how closely it lined up inside the drone and ensure that it wouldn't put any undue sideways stress on the internal pins. I highly recommend doing this as well. I had to file the mounting hole in the adapter to get a clean fit that lined up well, but you may have better luck depending on your printer's tolerances. Use epoxy, glue or a 3D printer pen to secure the EC3 once it's aligned and soldered onto some wire. The wires used need to be thin enough to fit under the length of the battery and allow it all to fit into the quad's battery bay. Common silicone 14+ gauge wire used for RC applications is probably too thick, but good old inflexible Home Depot copper 14g cable has thinner insulation and fits fine. A pair of right angles were bent into the wire to allow a tight fit against the battery.