Comment by Jiro Hattori on January 25, 2013 at 5:34am

Very nice idea.

Try later;-)

I have been utilizing heat shrink tube over the connection at this moment.

Developer Comment by R_Lefebvre on January 25, 2013 at 5:59am

Yeah, I just put heat shrink over the whole thing.

Distributor Comment by Dany Thivierge on January 25, 2013 at 8:03am

I still dont see why using bullets connectors... :) never will! 

There is no time gain, work saving in using bullets, it's easy enough to cut a wire when need be...

but this is a very nice idea, if you really need to use the bullets connectors this is the way to go, easier to inspect the connections before flight (checklist!) than using the heat shrink (unless it's transparent one) 

Good job. 

Comment by John Moore on January 25, 2013 at 9:01am

I use bullet connectors but i dont see how this method is better than using heat shrink over the connection. If the connection is tight when you apply the heat shrink it shouldnt introduce any gaps and tight heat shrink tubing is strong enough to help keep the connection from pulling apart.

Distributor Comment by Dany Thivierge on January 25, 2013 at 11:36am

its hard to inspect heat shrink wrapped connections... this is easier...  but again, how many of you have a pre-flight checklist?   BTW we should ALL have one.... takes 2 minutes to check and it keeps a maintenance log where you can put your comments on things you noticed that would be nice to do before flight... We all know that when flying we tend to forget things in the rush of excitement. I really urge you all to get a one pager checklist and if you fly bullet connectors put it there to inspect.  

Comment by Erman Ozen on January 25, 2013 at 12:20pm

Most heat shrink in the right size should do. And the best kind also is self adhesive under heat. I had not considered heat shrinking bullet connectors as they seem to be secure enough to withstand vibration etc. I am a little worried about connectors on the apm and planned on using a dab of the old glue gun to make sure nothing comes lose during flight.

Comment by wbal57 on January 25, 2013 at 2:47pm

Mine have cleared heat-shrink. Hot melt gets flaky and fails far too quickly for me to try using that for bullet connectors.

3D Robotics Comment by Joshua Ott on January 25, 2013 at 2:51pm

First let me say that I am in no way disparaging heat shrink tubing. I love that stuff and use it everywhere. I simply wanted to illustrate a method for molding hot glue into something more useful than an amorphous stringy blob.

As to my preference for using connectors versus solder, this stems from two primary design factors in my craft:

*At this point everything I build is a prototype and therefore I want nothing locked in. I'm constantly trying new components and configurations.

*The end use I'm building towards requires field repair-ability be close to the top of the design hierarchy.

My interests are single operator camera piloting for sports and adventure documentation, and scientific field work. Camera piloting is simply FPV with the goal of cinematic composition- often low, fast, and in close proximity to various hazards. It's very easy to get distracted with shot composition and loose track of the ground! This means a high probability of crashing coupled with remote and difficult to access locations. I won't have a grip truck full of ready to fly backups. Cordless hot glue is a vital tool in field repair.

Here are a couple of other examples of hot glue use and componentized design-

Hot glue encapsulation for Attosensor (this can be heat polished if aesthetics are a concern)

Bus bolts allow easy component replacement and excellent star topology power distribution. Hot glue encapsulation is used to lock the nuts and prevent accidental shorts, omitted here for clarity. In future designs this will be addressed with a plastic housing around the terminals.

Simple and lightweight.

Comment by Daryl on January 26, 2013 at 7:34am

I like this, good and simple.  I opted to use silicone fuel tubing instead as that's what I had lying around at the time.

3D Robotics Comment by Joshua Ott on January 26, 2013 at 11:22am

Nice Daryl, I like that solution a lot!

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