First build, Several questions..

M

Mungoid

New Member
Hi all, sorry for the wall of text!

Ive been into electronics/building/etc for a long time, so the other week I decided to try my hand at building a quadcopter from scratch(ish), and using one of my Arduinos as the FC. I built a 3d printer from scratch last year (massive headache, but very rewarding, 3 months later..) and thought: "Hey, there is no way this will be as difficult as that. Plug a few things together, upload some firmware, bada bing, bada boom, I'll be flying by the end of the week!" -- Yep. I wrong.. The only liftoff my quadcopter saw was juust enough to quickly flip upside-down and become a lawn mower.. I don't know why I torture myself like this. I guess diving in belly first is how i prefer to learn?

Anyway, From that process, I have accumulated some questions that I couldn't seem to find good answers for. I'm sure they are out there, but I couldn't find them.

1.) Motors - I accidentally got all 4 CW motors instead of 2CW and 2 CCW. Is possible to still use all 4 of these and keep 2 of them from coming unscrewed? I tried loctite which worked for a little while but not very long. Possibly some sort of lock nut or something? Or do I need to just buy 2 CCW ones? Afaik these motors dont have a way to replace the shaft without replacing the whole outrunner part (Emax MT2213-935)

2.) Props - I purposely got cheap props because I knew id probably crash, but I didn't realize how cheap they really were. Horizontal balance is fine, but I have not been able to get a single one balanced vertically. I have added so much glue to the light side that I'm convinced can't be good and I have to be doing something wrong. What am I not doing right? Or is that giant glob of glue ok? How about adding more?

Tmq4qTR.png


3.) Frame - The one i got is a larger because i wanted general purpose with room to grow. The frame has a kinda tail like section I assume is for the battery, but I havent seen anyone actually use that space for a battery. Every pic ive seen shows the battery in the middle. Im guessing that is to even out the balance of the copter but Im kinda confused as to what good purpose this section is for if nobody uses it for the battery?

41aBEZx3DrL.jpg



I have other questions but these are the main ones I couldnt really find good info on what to do. Thanks!
 
Mungoid said:
Hi all, sorry for the wall of text!

Ive been into electronics/building/etc for a long time, so the other week I decided to try my hand at building a quadcopter from scratch(ish), and using one of my Arduinos as the FC. I built a 3d printer from scratch last year (massive headache, but very rewarding, 3 months later..) and thought: "Hey, there is no way this will be as difficult as that. Plug a few things together, upload some firmware, bada bing, bada boom, I'll be flying by the end of the week!" -- Yep. I wrong.. The only liftoff my quadcopter saw was juust enough to quickly flip upside-down and become a lawn mower.. I don't know why I torture myself like this. I guess diving in belly first is how i prefer to learn?

Anyway, From that process, I have accumulated some questions that I couldn't seem to find good answers for. I'm sure they are out there, but I couldn't find them.

1.) Motors - I accidentally got all 4 CW motors instead of 2CW and 2 CCW. Is possible to still use all 4 of these and keep 2 of them from coming unscrewed? I tried loctite which worked for a little while but not very long. Possibly some sort of lock nut or something? Or do I need to just buy 2 CCW ones? Afaik these motors dont have a way to replace the shaft without replacing the whole outrunner part (Emax MT2213-935)

2.) Props - I purposely got cheap props because I knew id probably crash, but I didn't realize how cheap they really were. Horizontal balance is fine, but I have not been able to get a single one balanced vertically. I have added so much glue to the light side that I'm convinced can't be good and I have to be doing something wrong. What am I not doing right? Or is that giant glob of glue ok? How about adding more?

Tmq4qTR.png


3.) Frame - The one i got is a larger because i wanted general purpose with room to grow. The frame has a kinda tail like section I assume is for the battery, but I havent seen anyone actually use that space for a battery. Every pic ive seen shows the battery in the middle. Im guessing that is to even out the balance of the copter but Im kinda confused as to what good purpose this section is for if nobody uses it for the battery?

41aBEZx3DrL.jpg



I have other questions but these are the main ones I couldnt really find good info on what to do. Thanks!
Click to expand...

I'd personally prefer all CCW motors as that is what I get when I have a chance, but you are fine as long as you tighten the nut down, and I very strongly suggest you use nylon lock nuts. I'd suggest that you use the battery to balance the weight to the center of the quadcopter.
 
To balance the props, I just use duct tape on the underside of the prop about half way out to the end from the center. Also lots of videos on youtube for prop balancing. Some guys use the sanding method to remove weight from the heavy side but this seems like too much work for me. And if you want to get real technical do a search for motor balancing. Theory is basically the same as balancing a tire. One thing that's overlooked when getting motors is if they have stickers, remove them. They can actually throw your motors out of balance
 
RENOV8R said:
To balance the props, I just use duct tape on the underside of the prop about half way out to the end from the center. Also lots of videos on youtube for prop balancing. Some guys use the sanding method to remove weight from the heavy side but this seems like too much work for me. And if you want to get real technical do a search for motor balancing. Theory is basically the same as balancing a tire. One thing that's overlooked when getting motors is if they have stickers, remove them. They can actually throw your motors out of balance
Click to expand...
Depending on the manufacture, some are actually balanced with the stickers hahaha. usually manufactures taht are bigger name or those that make their own motors.
 
Jackson said:
I got my M5 locking nuts here,
http://www.ebay.com/itm/331658415310?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&var=540794373945&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT
Click to expand...
For CW motors you want to make sure you get Left Hand thread too.

http://www.getfpv.com/m5-black-aluminum-shallow-flange-lock-nut-set-of-4-ccw.html

More expensive but they ship fast, if you can find a similar lot to the link Jackson provided in Left Hand thread you would be all set, this is why many people like to use 4 CCW motors; the prop nuts are cheap, and easy to get and you don't have to get used to the left hand threads.
 
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