As more RC flyers and aerial photographers are getting started in Multicopters, and some are converting to CarbonCore, I’m doing this photographic build thread to talk through how I would personnel build a Hexacopter.
Setup:
CarbonCore Hexa 950
Zenmsue Z15 with Sony Nex-5 and DJI WooKong-M
4112 DJI Motors
2x 6S 5000mAh LiPo batteries (lightweight and high power rechargeable for those who don’t know)
New, tall and light weight leg set, available in the New Year.
The new leg set can also be used with the PhotoHigher AV130 and AV200.
The leg set also detaches from the Multicopter with only four clips. (Production version).
The latest motor arms now have carbon inserts pressed around the captive nuts, that all come pre fitted.
So here we go!
The very first thing I did was to bolt, with thread lock, the six motor mounts (3.0mm thick) to the TOP of the motor arms.
Then drop four 6mm long bolts, with washers, through the slots.
Next adding a dot of thread lock to the threads in the motors.
Finally fitting the motors to the motor mounts.
I also used some cable braid as the three motor cables have to go around the edge of the motor mounts.
Replies
Hey, could you tell me the specifics on your 4112 motors? They look very similar to the X4112S 320kv sunnyskys I just ordered. I can tell from the pic, they look a little different then DJI motors. Just curious to what others are using, Thanks.
An interested reader on another forum asked me very valid question,
“How Strong are CarbonCore Multicopters”
I have looped and rolled a Hexa950 with a Naza, in manual mode with the gains up to 240% in 100% dual rates. There wasn’t any visible flexing on the frame.
There are reports of other brands of Multicopters arms breaking when attempting a loop.
The demo Hexa950 with Zenmuse that weighs 5.9Kgs – I’m sure it’s powerful enough to loop. But the Zenmuse will sometimes “crash” and reboot, doing its three-way-spin party trick, if the multi is rolled past 45 degrees. But maybe it’s about time someone really threw around a Zenmuse … Subscribe to my You Tube Channel!
https://www.youtube.com/user/CarbonCoreModels/videos?view=0
If you stand a CarbonCore Multicopter on knife-edge, with two arms firmly on the floor, and one motor mount in each hand, and push-and-pull, it doesn’t twist. It flex’s a tiny amount but feels very supple.
The carbon fibre has some natural flex or spring to it.
The demo Hexa950 with Z15 is flying with a WooKong and I also, did not balance the propellers. I forgot to! But it flies completely sweet.
I haven’t been able to break a motor arm with my bare hands.
I have put a motor arm (for 950 and Octo) across my knee and tried to snap/crush it, and it wasn’t happening.
There are CarbonCore Octocopters flying with 2826 motors with 14” Xoar props and 2x 5S 6000mAh Packs, that weight 4.5Kgs. My MegaRadius mount weighs 1.5Kgs with its giant legs and a customer kindly flew it with a 4Kg box of sand. This customer has a lifetime discount and is doing well from Aerial Photography.
My customer has commented that the payload equals the weight of a Red Epic
However your question to me, feels a lot like the question, “what motors do I need for heavy lift” – about ten of my emails per day are almost exactly that wording. I tell customers that they need to correct setup for their application and I have to ask them a few questions. And I think this is happening because every start-up business getting into Multicopters is branding everything with Heavy Lift. I direct a lot of customers to Jeremy at ElectriFltie.co.uk because he has a lot of experience with motor, prop and battery setups.
Whenever I read “Heavy Lift” I read “Heavy Copter”. Anyone can make something strong and heavy.
My Multicopter frame plates are 1.5mm thick and no thinner because customers do not like to pick a part out of the box and feel it flex in their hands – not realizing the strength is in the assembly.
I weigh 70Kgs. So, I made this test to show you that I can STAND on a Hexa650 without anything breaking. I even had my hands on the ceiling and was maybe pushing-down a little! I even tried hopping a little. I bolted stacks of frame plates to the ends of the arms to stop the assembly sliding around. And also did this on the living room carpet to avoid slipping.
I can now say the Hexa650 is rated to 70Kgs All Up Weight lol. That’s 11.6Kgs on each arm. This would also mean you can safely put a Hexa650 (About 3Kg AUW without a payload) through a loop of about 23G.
This may show that frames can be made lighter. However they would then also flex more and that can cause other problems.
CarbonCore Hexa 950 with 4112 motors, Pre Production Quick release Leg Set and Zenmuse