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Vacuum Formed, Water Proof, Battle Quad Project

Posted by Marque Cornblatt on April 18, 2013 at 1:00pm

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Here are a few pics of a recent project - a inexpensive DIY vacuum-formed styrene quad frame that can take any abuse thrown at it.  So far it has survived flying in a downpour, falling from great heights and getting hit with a barrage of paintballs - and it's survived it all with no problems.  Today we're testing water take-off's and landings.  Wish us luck...

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  • Marque Cornblatt April 23, 2013 at 9:59am

    Mark III Bathtub floatation test.  It floats but rides low in the water.  A little foam padding should help with that...

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    https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/3692692260?profile=original
  • Marque Cornblatt April 21, 2013 at 10:46pm

    Here is the latest VF Sumo Quad prototype, the Mark III.  It's made from vacuum-formed kydex.  It flies great and is nearly indestructible.  It should be ready for water testing in a day or two.  It does run hot inside though, so a ventilation solution is up next.

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  • Marque Cornblatt April 19, 2013 at 10:36am

    Thanks for all the great comments.  More pics and video coming soon.  The water test was cancelled until we upgrade the hull design a bit.  However we did torture test the hull with hard landings, skidding and skating and more than a few cartwheels.  The frame LOVED it all.  Absolutely zero damage.

    We used 1/16" styrene from TAP plastic, 12 M3 nut/bolts and hotglue for waterproofing (Hotglue normally sucks, but with styrene it works great and can be reworked if needed).  We made the first mold shape with assorted tupperware and wood blocks.  The Mark II frame is based on the shape of the DJI Flamewheel.  We are currently working on frame Mark III

    Basic Specs:
    APM 2.5
    DJI 30 amp Esc's 
    DJI 920 KV motors
    1/16" Styrene

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  • Dez Socks April 19, 2013 at 6:59am

    Now that is great.For a long time there is a danger of breakages to the frame.This looks rugged and may lower some costs of purchasing as i can be mass produced quite quickly.Excellent work

  • Mike April 19, 2013 at 6:29am

    Coincidently there is a Vaccum former project on Kickstarter - ends May 10th

  • HeliStorm April 18, 2013 at 11:06pm

    The paint job in the second shot is great. ;)

  • HeliStorm April 18, 2013 at 11:05pm

    This is very nice. I have a friend with a vacuum-forming machine at their shop. I may try something like this for my little quad.

  • Jeroen van de Mortel April 18, 2013 at 11:04pm

    That is a very nice idea, what is the weight ?

    Do you have a video ?

  • Chris LaFlash April 18, 2013 at 8:44pm

    How thick is the plastic? Can you give details on the form/profile you used for the mold?

  • Jake Wells April 18, 2013 at 8:37pm

    I have ideas now thank you.

This reply was deleted.