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 tbh had most of my attention), despite that however it turned out remarkably well and over the last couple of days Ive grown to appreciate and even love it a ickle bit. Its a "no frills" setup were I made no attempt to hide any of the workings of the quad but minimize 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 3 flights and some acro stuff then 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 lol. the frame was a bit of a experiment, I wanted to see what was the smallest frame I could make and still use 10x45 props without overlapping, 350 is just that, with just 5mm between blade tips, Ive since added arm designs that allow the frame to be adapted too 250,280,350,400 and 480 sizes, (all designs still use the CF reinforcement setup) Once again the frame is made entirely of PLA (you can use ABS, it works just aswell but theres 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, their hardly ever rugged enough to survive even the most lightest knocks let alone the inevitable heavy landing/headlongsuicidalnosedive. so instead of starting from scratch I took the DJI standard f450 arm design and chopped off the bits I didnt need or want before adding a square centre right along the arm length which is inturn hollowed out to allow the insertion of a 8mm Carbon tube post printing which essentially has made the arms "carbon reinforced" this doesnt just sound cool people (and cheap btw....£2 from HK for a 750mm length of CF 8mm tube) it also does a crackin job of making the arms the toughest ones Ive ever used, yes I also include the original DJI ones in that statement. when the previously mentioned Naze died it was at something close to 50ft in the air above tarmac and it 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 and a quick 2hr 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 little brown trouser time'ish when you first try it out lol. 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 (havnt had any issues with originals but I know not everyone lands as carefully as I tend too lol, 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'll need to is slot in the 8mm rods, one long one corner to corner and two half the size for the two other arms, 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 centre 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 led's if need 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 your gonna use smaller than a 2200mah 3s or your battery just isnt as snug fitting as mine are.