@Anton_Mansson1 just put together and flew a OpenRC 450 Quad and i took the chance to ask him a few questions about it.
- For those out there who do not know who you are, could you tell them a little bit about yourself and what you do?
Sure! My name is Anton Månsson and I’m a addict. Erhm, 3D addict. I’ve been working with 3D in fields like 3D printing, scanning and animation/rendering since 2009 and as a hobby from 2003. I work at Creative Tools during daytime and as Batman of 3D during night. At least I try to do as much fun things as possible related to 3D via my personal youtube channel 3D Print Tech Design. I dream of big things when it comes to 3D and fail because I come up with better ideas before I finish the ones im doing…
- What made you decide to 3D print and build the OpenRC 450 Quad?
First of all, your designs are awesome Daniel and I’ve done the OpenRC F1 as well as started a buggy (but I blame you for coming up with a “better” idea before I got to finish that one… haha… I saw the OpenRC Quad fly once and thought it’s a great way to get into the hobby and be able to print all the replacement parts when I crash, instead of going a more traditional way and buying an expensive kit or finished system. The OpenRC Quad design also allowed me to download the STEP from the file-page and visualize my version of it before hand.
- The electronics recommended for this is a complete setup from a DJI F450 but you went another route using other electronics, how come?
Well, In the movie I just released you can see my old hexacopter OVERKILL attempt I made and then crashed… Printed with Replicator 1 btw, in PLA… The electronics held up in the crash so I had almost everything laying around for a while. Finally I decided to make it happen and since the STEP files were available I could first measure if my parts would fit (ECS, motors, flight controller and battery), which it of course didn’t, but the power of Fusion 360 allowed me to adjust som parts, make som attachment points and flip the motor-arms (my motor attachment points were mirrored). Voila! Although the parts I have might be slightly overpowered, I prefer having a bit more juice to fly longer and maybe even try putting some FPV or camera-stabilizer on it some day.
- What was the biggest challenge while building the Quad?
Really not that much. Just commit I suppose. Oh no, the hardest part was to build it when focusing on filming. I missed one motors rotation even if i checked it 3 TIMES in the movie. Busy recording I suppose… But that got fixed in the field by the worst Jerry-rigging ever. Still flew though!
- I know you made some changes of your own to the design, what are they and when will you release those files?
I had to make room for my bigger ECS and longer cables. I also had more cables in the quad itself to tuck away. My battery was also 3-4x the size of your recommended version so I had to remove the nice looking battery compartment and used longer m3-arms to get them to stick out around 20mm at the bottom, then print a attachment plate to center and lock in the battery underneath. As soon as i’m back from vacation and have cleaned up a few things they will go live on appropriate platforms as remixes.
- Do you have any tips for anyone wanting to 3D print and build a OpenRC 450 Quadcopter of their own?
If you use other electronics, check everything (like motor attachment layout) before starting to print. Also measure your ECS, cables etc just to make sure they fit. It’s a sleek design, but also snug. Other than that. take it easy, use strong materials and color code the arms! (i went with green forward and orange back) makes it easier when it’s a few meters away from you. And lastly… check motor rotation according to your flight controller. 4 times… 3 times isn’t enough -.-
- Lastly, for those curious and want to know more about the stuff you do find more content?
almost anything goes up at http://www.youtube.com/amid2d3d but I spend a lot of time on twitter as well at @AntonMnsson
I hope we get to see more highlights of others projects. Super fun idea!