r/Multicopter

G day
Before we start, I'm writing this as a straight brain dump (no ai) so please forgive any spelling mistakes etc i’m just super pumped to share this with you guys

My site https://www.diyfpv.com/ is the site I wished I had when i started flying 10+ years ago, before I knew anything or anyone in this hobby. It is packed full of awesome stuff for pilots but this is all about what i think is the most impressive part yet.

 We have just released our builder. https://studio.diyfpv.com/ as part of the studio we have there. The aim is to have a centralised database of all fpv parts, with correct wiring logic that can also be used in an interactive soldering studio. This studio can then check connections, flag possible issues, be shared as setup guides between pilots and much more. 

Features that made it in 1.0

• Take a product in the database (which is also the largest fpv component database online) , select its picture and start building
• Designed to be both intuitive/easy but also very powerful. Drag and drop features make building a part a breeze
• Logic is built into all connections that auto populate on entry. If you place a pad and label it as RX3, a drop down will then happen where you can correctly set the function/logic of that pad to a (uart 3 receive/inbound) the same can be done with things like voltages and setting the flow, set min and max cell count or output volts from a pad. 
• Double sided parts are common, easily create both sides that can be flipped inside the studio, with cutout and through pads placing a pad on one side of the board correctly links a sister pad on the other side. 
• The parts are almost a 1:1 recreation of the real thing, add a ton of details like chips, caps, boot buttons, usbs etc. making identification easy when someone is using it. New pilots should be easily able to reference the part and plan their real life builds. 
• Heaps of tweaking functions, label directions, spacing, groupings, arc tools etc that could be an entire write up on its own.

Beyond 1.0 plans

• Currently we can only do parts like and fc, rx for vtx. But in future update soon we have a simple and easy to to implement cameras and motors
• Later this week I think there will be a function that lets users use their own photos for references while creating a part
• Double sided stack parts are currently in the “how do we do this” - I think our current plan is to take a part that is a stack, and then link that schematic to the already created single boards.

Originally I was drawing parts alone but realised it was impossible to do by myself. This required a ton of work behind the scenes, making it much more user friendly, a whole moderation, and approval back end system. Checks and comments, review stages etc. 

The studio where we connect all the parts is currently in an unlock at 250 parts stage. There was no point in having a studio to connect parts if those parts were not drawn in the first place.

Out of all my work in fpv this is one of the things I am the most proud of. I truly think that so many pilots are going to benefit from this. A huge thank you to all the people who have already gotten on board and started to help drawing parts

This post isnt about getting donations or youtube views etc. (thats actually why I didnt even share my youtube video on it) This is just about sharing the tool with the community and showing the awesome work the DIYFPV team has done. If you want to help out and build some parts it would be greatly appreciated.

Happy flying

Stew

Mostly together. Stack is 6-7mm taller than planned with the mcu socket. I might have to surface mount the teensy idk yet. Everything checks out in the fw though all rails and circuits good, which was an awesome surprise. Cheers!

Hello, I'm back from redesigning based on critiques and doing some personal iteration. I've looked over a lot of the different comments, resulting in reinforcement of some areas and major design changes.

The biggest obvious change with this new frame look is the change to triangular trussed arms, which in theory allows for better stability and strength for the frame, at the cost of some weight and sharp impact resistance. In addition, I have switched over to an extreme squashed X, bordering on H for one of the two arms in each set. This takes advantage of the drones design, making it much more compact without propellers touching despite the proximity.

If anyone knows of a parametric modeler for camera mount, that would be very helpful, as my cad skills are somewhat limited, and I've remodeled the camera mount tens of times and am still unhappy with it. It would be great to be able to square away that part of the process and not worry about it anymore.

If anyone knows any good free simulation software for carbon fiber composites, that is what I primarily am looking for, though the design is still definitely unrefined and in need of more critiquing. Any help or guidance in the design process would be very appreciated.

The Specs of this Frame:

3.5 in Squashed X

4 mm carbon, comprised of two identical pieces on top and bottom

Frame Weight is 45-50g, designed for lighter freestyle bashing

Arms are 4mm and 8mm wide respectively

Original Post: https://www.reddit.com/r/diydrones/comments/1u766of/help_with_designing_drone_frame/

Pcbs came in and check out. Still assembling