3DR ArduCopter kits are back in stock at the 3D Robotics store. The kits have gone through a slight redesign both in mechanical design and documentation. Our new facility in Tijuana, Mexico as well as better suppliers for parts have allowed us to greatly improve the quality of these kits as well as offering them for lower prices. The new frames also look stunning!
The main change to both of the kits is the new arms, the arms are now 40mm shorter which translates to about 10 grams lighter per arm. This allows for the motor cables to be shorter and reduce the weight of the vehicle overall. The motors are no longer mounted through the entire cross section of the arm which caused the old 3DR arms to sink, the motors are not mounted to the top face of the arm providing a better mounting surface. The two frames are significantly smaller and will allow for easier transportation. The arms now come in two colors, blue and black. Each kit will contain 2 blue arms and a spare black arm (3 black arms for the Quad kit and 5 black arms for the hexa kit), this will allow you to build your vehicle in either + or x configuration with the front indicated by a blue arm(s).The center plates on the Hexa-B have been redesigned to accommodate for the shorter arms and large props.
The manuals for both of the kits have been re-written, we took all your feedback and produced a better set of assembly and set-up instructions. 3DR will also be providing a parameter file for these specific frames and keep it current as the code evolves to provide the best possible performance with these frames. The first iteration of this param file should be available shortly.
The full flight electronics quad and hexa kit have been upgraded to APM2.5 .
3DR ArduCopter Quad-C
3DR ArduCopter Quad-C Frame Kit $99.99
3DR ArduCopter Quad-C Frame + Motors Kit $249.99
3DR ArduCopter Quad-C Frame + Motors + Full Flight Electronics Kit $449.99
3DR ArduCopter Hexa-B
3DR ArduCopter Hexa-B Frame Kit $129.99
3DR ArduCopter Hexa-B Frame + Motors Kit $349.99
3DR ArduCopter Hexa-B Frame + Motors + Full Flight Electronics Kit $549.99
3DR ArduCopter kits will begin shipping today!
Comments
Here is some sample data. Values are for one motor. This data is a bit outdated, its something I did when I was pondering the switch to APC props. The 880kv are more efficient with the 11" props. I'll try to get some data soon and post it here.
Also the .param for the Quad-C has been posted to the ArduCopter wiki downloads section. Like I said before the Hexa-B flies awesome with the stock params.
850kv motor
Purple 1
10x47
APC
ESC1
Power [W]
Current [A]
RPM
Thrust [lbs]
10.5
0.86
2745
0.2305
20.8
1.71
3460
0.3965
29.3
2.45
3910
0.5153
40.1
3.38
4330
0.6592
51.5
4.3
4700
0.7809
60.6
5.11
4970
0.8815
71.3
6.08
5240
0.9907
81.4
6.84
5440
1.0921
91.6
7.76
5620
1.186
101.3
8.62
5800
1.2603
109.1
9.33
5920
1.3374
120.4
10.25
6030
1.403
127.7
10.94
6130
1.4759
140.7
12.13
6270
1.5443
880kv motor
Orange1
10x47
APC
ESC1
Power [W]
Current [A]
RPM
Thrust [lbs]
10.5
0.88
2680
0.1801
19.2
1.62
3370
0.3302
31.9
2.69
4030
0.5103
40.4
3.41
4390
0.6059
50.3
4.24
4730
0.7492
61.2
5.19
5050
0.8672
71.2
6.01
5290
0.9788
80.1
6.73
5470
1.0615
90.5
7.72
5720
1.1889
102.1
8.72
5960
1.2849
110.2
9.43
6060
1.3423
119.3
10.26
6240
1.4371
130.4
11.12
6390
1.538
142.3
12.19
6550
1.6181
151
13.12
6670
1.6962
160
13.85
6750
1.7511
172.3
14.94
6950
1.8066
177.1
15.45
6970
1.8406
Jason, I just weighed an unassembled quad kit with the components in bags and it weighed 455g so the weight of the kit minus the bags should be just under of 450g.
I finished the .param files for both of the frames. The hexa flies awesome with the standard params, the quad needs a bit of tweaking. We will have the .param files posted soon.
what is the difference with 850kv and 880kv motors? which is the most efficient motor ffor longer flights?
Thanks a lot.
Center plate redesign on the hexa looks very familiar ;)
Good choice as the concave spars (star pattern) will be noticeably stiffer than the circular/arc spar.
Thanks for the reply. You mentioned that the shorter arms shave 10g per arm. What is the total weight of the frame? It's not on the store page, and I an't find it anywhere! Thanks
I may have sourced a suitable equivalent for replacement arms... I cannot confirm yet but Chris as a Distributor I can tell you that I sell maybe 4-5 sets a months so they are in low demand but still they are needed.
I'll update this tread if my supplier can produce them in low quantities for an equivalent price.
Dany
Craig: the team is working hard to come up with a better option. Producing another batch of the old-style arms would cost many tens of thousands of dollars with our current supplier (and as far as I know we've only had three people ask for a replacement arm, so that doesn't make economic sense). We may end up just hand-crafting them on demand if needed.
What about the people who just got a 3DR-B kit? You know, the ones who paid full freight+ for their new copter and are probably just learning too? So you're saying that now they can't replace a single arm, they have to buy 4 new arms the first time ONE gets ruined? Seems rather shabby...and has nothing to do with "impeding progress" on my part. Unbelievable if this is true, I hope not.
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