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Aluminum Housing for APM

Posted by Ravi on September 30, 2011 at 5:30am


3689426524?profile=originalhi friends, whenever we fly in automode using APM there is always some chance of a bad crash. we do lose some expensive equipment. APM is quite expensive for almost $400 and not counting the mid night hours that go in debugging. so i have worked on a aluminum APM housing which is quite strong with 1.5mm thickness and is sufficiently large to house the APM and the Rx. The external dimensions are L112xW53xH38mm. Weight is 106gms. The APM fits snugly into the width with enough space to place a Futaba size Rx. I place a Thomas Scherrer 12Rx inside which is quite large. The slots are CNC cut into  PCB grade aluminum anodized channel. slightly heavy but quite strong. he cost works to be high since it is not mass produced and the CNC guy charges lot of money for each piece. would find a way out to bring the cost down so our DIY Drones community can beniefit.

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Comments

  • Jack Crossfire September 30, 2011 at 10:21pm

    We need more lead housings, or concrete.  Makerbot printed, of course.

  • Ravi September 30, 2011 at 7:35pm

    hi ric, honestly it is not a bash. i almost lost a Rx in a bad crash. so i i found this housing off the shelf. the inside and outside dimensions are perfect for APM2560 board+shield to be fitted inside a skywalker or any narrow fuselage (53mm wide). i got the slots cut on CNC and kept the length extended to house the Rx also. ofcourse the Rx anteenas are kept out through the rear slot. actually housing is just for a few dollars here in india and is of good quality. i think it is worth the extra weight of 106gms added. it does saves the PCB in an eventuality of a crash. it does not has a PCB slot. i just used double sided 3M tape to mount the board inside parallel to the bottom of housing.

  • Moderator
    Sgt Ric September 30, 2011 at 4:18pm
    Sorry Ravi, if this seems to have turned into a bash-fest.
    This site is founded on the spirit of innovation and sharing ideas with your fellow enthusiasts, and your post is actually very interesting.
    Thanks Ravi.
  • Richard Unwin September 30, 2011 at 3:54pm

    can we see an internal picture, this looks like a hammond box where the circuit board slides into side rails inside the box, my main concern is always the weight, protecting the board is probably better achieved by wrapping the apm in a layer of foam. just my idea though, thanks for sharing.

    richie

  • Moderator
    Sgt Ric September 30, 2011 at 2:06pm

    I purchased the plastic one from  SparkFun and the ply one from DIYDrones store.

    Although this aluminum one is certainly nicely made, I feel that if either of the above can't protect my APM in a crash, them it probably wasn't survivable anyway.

     

  • patrice.rance September 30, 2011 at 8:14am

    2 stage with epoxy and APM between is sufficiant !!! i had a big accident but the APM was safe !!

    but why not if you put your receiver outside as mentionnned by Pauli

This reply was deleted.