TriHEXACOP!
March 2014
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| Turnigy Tri-copter modified |
Contents
TriHEXACOP Build Log
I wanted to add a travel-able unit to my camera platforms to take on trips and the most obvious for this was a small, fold-able tricopter. So, for this project I started with a Turnigy X900 tricopter frame which I cut down to 740mm so when folded it would fit into a standard 22" carry-on bag. From the beginning I wanted to make this into a HEX at some point but I ended up doing this almost right away as this frame was not really robust enough for what I wanted to carry in a three motor configuration. Below then is a list of the parts I used and some mod details.
General Specifications
Build Date - March 2014
| Airframe Type - | Multi-rotor, Y-Hex Tricopter | Flying Type - | Aerial Photography | |
| Motor Centers - | 29" (740mm) | Bare Weight - | 38oz (1077gr) | |
| Max Rotor Area - | 8" - 301in^2 (2070cm^2) | AUW Weight - | 55.5oz (1574oz) | |
| Motors - | Multistar 2209/980Kv X6 | Propellers - | DJI 8 x 4.5 | |
| Power - | 1320 watts MAX | Thrust - | 121oz (3420gr) | |
| Thrust/Weight - | 2.17:1 | Battery Type - | Lipoly - 5400mah, 3S, 35C | |
| Speed Control (ESC)- | 6X HK BlueSeries 20A w/SimonK | BEC - | Linear 2A, 5.25v |
Main Component List
The component list includes all the major components needed. What is not shown are additional fasteners tie-wraps, connectors, G10 materials, battery's, etc. Prices are shown only for the parts I had to buy.
| Item (as of March 2014) | Price | Quant | Sub-Tot |
| Hobbyking X900 Tricopter Frame | $29.99 | x1 | $29.99 |
| Turnigy X525v3 Motor Mounts | $- | x6 | $7.04 |
| Multistar 2209/980Kv | $14.98 | x6 | $89.88 |
| DJI Props 8 x 4.5 | $3.96 | x6 | $23.76 |
| HobbyKing BlueSeries 20A ESC | $10.78 | x6 | $64.68 |
| HobbyKing KK 2.0 | $29.99 | x1 | $29.99 |
| Spektrum AR6200 Satelite | $- | x1 | $- |
| Total- | $245.34 |
What I Threw Together
Frame Base
The frame plates are made from fiberglass and are pretty strong. The camera mount is a bit flimsy so I may need to add a CF doubler to stiffen it up. My kit was missing the thumbscrew arm pivot bolts so I am just using wingnuts on the bottom.
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| Frame plate layout |
For power distribution I made a three wire pigtail which is looped between the plates. I'm running a KK2.0 Flight controller with 1.6++ firmware that is set-up for using a Spektrum or Orange satellite RX. This makes wiring much cleaner. You simply cannot beat these $29 controllers.
Motor's & ESC's
For this project I started with NTM2826 as shown in the picture but will change these out for Multistar 2209/980 units soon. I will get good wait savings and should have enough power to do the slow AP I want to use this for.
For motor mount plates I bought two packages of the Turnigy X525 spare motor mounts. They are inexpensive and only required 1 new hole to be drilled in the arms. I also added a stand-off on each pair to stiffen them up.
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| The business end (before installing the Multistar motors) |
For ESC's I chose Hobby King Blue Series 20A units which I flashed with SimonK firmware.
Brushless? Gimbal
Yes, it will have a gimbal but likely it will be a servo driven SSG Gimbal as designed by RCGroups poster "crezzee". This design is very low profile and has limited travel so it will act like it has "follow mode". I am hoping that with the graceful nature of tricopter flight this will give the feel of flying rather than the Brushless Gimbals feel of being on the end of a boom because they are so overly stable. We'll see...
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| SSG Gimbal by crezzee |
See Also
Comments? Questions?
