Hey everyone, it always bothered me when my Quad hit the ground hard, so I started looking on a way to add a suspension to it and after 2 weeks of trying, this is what I came up with:
I got some shock absorbing from a 1/10 scale buggy and added wheels, one on each side of each leg with a total of 8, they are very light (used on some airplanes like Apprentice etc). Had to 3D print some parts to hold the shocks on the Arm, I also printed the Sonar support. I am very happy with the result of the suspension. To test it I cut the power off at about 2 feet high and it hit the ground but it doesn't bounce at all (the shocks absorb all the impact). I'm very satisfied with the results, and I just wanted to share.
Comments
Veikko, that is a good idea also, just need to find a very light one...
yes Ellison, this would definitely be lighter, some thing to think about...tks
Like your idea, sure we all had it at some point but only few implemented it! nicely done
now a bit of constructive comments:
Lose the wheels all together... rotate the legs to the part that is round hit the ground first and it will act like a skid...
you may need to find the optimal angle and all to make ti fold but this is the same principle as the X1 quads we sell.
http://www.canadadrones.com/ArduCopter-X1-Frame-Kit-p/x1-quad-kit1.htm
Your solution is stronger as the X1 only uses a regular spring so adding a shock is nice.
Dany
I think the 100 grams is a little too high., though It's almost the weight of a GoPro camera.
Maybe you should use wheels made specifically for aircraft, like this:
John, I used a stock shock (19g each) , the wheels are only 3g each, as far as price, I spent about $50.00 because I had to buy 4 rear (Apprentice) suspension to get the wheels etc, If we can find the source to buy just the wheels I am sure it would be lot cheaper. I did not weight the entire Quad, but the suspension only added about 100-120grams.
Like your design too, looks really good
Hi skyracer, my Quad is the 3DR bought the kit here at DIY Store, as far as dimension I measured 24" from center of the motors on diagonal, I have project that I downloaded, if you want it I can email to you. For my props, I use the 12x4.5 made in Germany, found it to be much better and more resistant also, I buy them from this website (http://www.innov8tivedesigns.com/product_info.php?products_id=994)
I like your design a lot. Did you find some light weight shocks? Or modify them for lightness? How expensive was everything? What is the size and weight of your quad? I think somebody could sell a kit like this.
The picture is of a crazy large prototype nose gear I built also using 1/10 scale shock (from a slash) it was going to go on a large drone.
Luis, me puedes dar las dimensiones de tu quad?. que helices estás usando? Tengo unos motores idénticos y quiero aprovechar tu experiencia
they only added 100 grams