Just finished assembling the frame. looks like a tank! lol.

I really have a hard time bending the arms! I decided to build a wooden brake for these arms (gave my hands a hardtime).. Bolted up with M4 x 10mm screws.

Need to put some rubber grommets on the 12mm holes. I also need some paper sanding on the arms to have those aluminum residue from machining removed-- to also have a matte finish look..

You can see the stack-up plate installed inside the centerpiece. I am planning to put the flight controller here. The metal screws will be replaced by nylon screws..

I need some ideas on mounting the landing gear to the quadcopter frame.. one of my option is connecting these using a rubber with double sided. or installing 8 anti-vibration balls like this one.. from goodluckbuy.

The whole assembly weights at 500g.. i will update the weight again after finishing all accessories. By the way, the total length motor-motor is 560mm.. Is this heavy for this size?

I am still waiting for some parts.. next will be landing gear and frame connection.

Bending the parts.

Test fit of the stacked up plate and Centerpiece. I really have a hard time bending the parts. I made a sheet metal brake made of wood! Checked the distances from the CAD drawing. everything seems ok. +/- 1mm-- good enough for me.

Landing gear. Bent to 25 degrees. 140mm distance from bottom to landing gear plate.

Bottom plate of the centerpiece and the arms. Now, bending this arm will require a "real" sheet metal brake. My DIY brake will break bending this parts. lol. I need to put rubber grommets to those 12mm holes so that the motor wires will be safe.

I will be using fiberglass rods instead of the 12mm aluminum rod (a bit overkill).. I think the landing gear looks good. Test assembly.. still a long way to go..

I think the landing gears is sturdy enough..

Another view of the whole assembly less the arms.. I am also experimenting with aluminum square/rectangular tubes in case the arms or whole assembly will be too heavy.  Note: the screws on the landing gear are temporary.. I don't have a shorter screw as of the moment.. Well, that's it for the day..

Just fresh from the waterjet cutter..

Left to right: Stack-up pad, Centerplate, Landing Gear.

Quadcopter Arms

Arm and the Centerplate bottom flange.

I am always impressed in the cut quality of waterjet cutter!

I haven't measure the actual weight of the frame yet.. (my guess will be around 500g). The landing gear is still also an experimental design.

Next step: Installing a Self-clinching nut for the screws and then off to the bending press!

With Frame + motors + props, solidedge calculated weight of 1.1kgs. Im still figuring out how to shave off extra kgs from this frame...

I wanted to design (actually took reference on a couple of existing design) my quadcopter frame. My main purpose is to have a quadcopter carry a gopro for aerial video/photo for our surfing trips and maybe used it for scenery / other video usage. I am still a noob at autopilot system so I am having a hard time figuring out which flight control to use... By the way, I will be using an all aluminum frame with dampening cushions to absorb the shock and vibrations. Aluminum is environmental friendly unlike carbon fiber and fiber glass... Just my own thought..

The following are my main parts:

Sunnysky 2814 750Kv - 4 pcs

12x3.8 CF / Wood props - 4pcs

DJ NAZA-M Lite or APM 2.6 w/ ublox GPS

5800MAh 4S Lipo

Gopro hero 3 black w/ gimbal

MY first design was derived from xproheli but i had made it with 600mm motor to motor distance.

I like the idea of sheet metal frame-- just like the real aircraft construction.

 I have access to shops that can cut my design through a sheet of aluminum. Bending it would not be a problem. I have designed some jigs for my arm and center housing.

The height of the landing gear is designed for gopro or min dslr.

My second design is based on a square aluminum tube (3/4 x 3/4). But when I measured it from a caliper, It is only 17mm x 17mm. Anyways, I had made my centerplate a bit large to accommodate my electronics cleanly. The landing gear is also the same as the previous design.. Landing gear and centerplate is connected t by vibration resisting shock absorbing balls (I dont know the real name of it).

Solidedge calculated the weight of Frame+motor+props - 1.1kgs. aprox. the same as the previous quad's weight.

    Now I am a bit confused in which design to go. the first design is kind of work extensive than the 2nd one. The second one is plain simple design, sheet metal bending to do and jigs to make.. But honestly The first quad looks kinda cool and professional.

I will be posting new developments soon..