Completely 3D Printed Mini Quadcopter With XiaoMi Camera – Group Build Log Contest Entry

by Oscar

This page is written by a group member who entered our build log contest. We are sharing the info hope it would be useful to someone.

This mini quad frame is completely built using 3D printed parts by Travis Wong.

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Parts Lists:

  • Emax (true) 250 frame, 3D printed down to a true 250mm
  • Started as an OEM emax frame scanned into my CAD software. Steadily revised and strengthened over the weeks.
  • Emax powertrain: 12a SimonK esc, pm1806 motors
  • HK Quanum FPV full kit with 3D print camera & antenna protection
  • Turnigy 9x radio system
  • CC3D clone on Openpilot
  • 3D print Xiaomi Yi case & GoPro hard mount
  • Closeup of plastic motors, which have survived crashes well but are under-powered when fully weighed down.

3D print arms are 15mm shorter than stock, resulting in 250mm rotor 2 rotor classification. Another view of plastic filament landing / motor screw protection.

3d-printed-quadcopter-mini-quad-arms-new-old-version

Fully loaded with Xiaomi Yi & 1600 battery makes 581 grams. Front Al standoffs recessed a bit to allow 6″ props @ 250mm classification. Washers added to minimize print delamination, the most common printed part failure method.

3d-printed-quadcopter-mini-quad-xiaomi-yi-camera-case

Xiaomi 3D print case, lens protector, & antenna protector.

3d-printed-quadcopter-mini-quad-with-xiaomi-yi-camera

Parts are filled in to maximize tensile strength. Belly plate has screw head protection. Main chassis is shortened to under 200mm long to allow printing in smaller DaVinci printers.

3d-printed-quadcopter-mini-quad-bottom 3d-printed-quadcopter-mini-quad-battery

All 3D printed parts (minus antenna cover) are my own design and will be uploaded to thingiverse.com.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=105&v=X2fVDUY-k_c

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3 comments

Jean 13th October 2015 - 4:57 pm

Hi Oscar
Just saw that page. If I had to print the frame, my first reflex would be to print less: make holes in the frame to make it lighter. Do you think removing some plastic parts would be a constraint?
But less than 600g fully loaded, it is not bad at all I guess :)

Reply
Oscar 14th October 2015 - 9:56 am

Hi Jean, 3D printed frame are generally not very tough, making too many/big holes might make it too weak. It might also affect rigidity as well…
If you really want a light weight frame, you should go for Carbon fiber :) 3D printed frames are mainly for fun, testing, and prototyping :)

Reply
Travis 13th May 2015 - 9:07 pm

Thanks again for the fun contest! It pushed me to finally CAD the design tweaks I had in the back of my head and print them out.

Reply