Kategorie: Project: The Tick

Today I did a few testflights with different prop setups and one of the setups gives me much more hope for a really stamina setup. I flow 16:30 minutes the first 5 mins really aggressive the rest was in hovering flight. Today the first 2 pieces of frames will be done by waterjet cutting. For tomorrow there is also a plan to produce the motor mounts by CNC milling. With these parts it will be possible to get infos about endurance and stability of the frame. With all this knowledge it will go for further studies of how to get everything to the lowest weight which is possible with this setup.

So different goals achieved right now:

• super slim setup like 35mm height (without battery) CHECK
• flighttimes around 10-15mins or more CHECK
• stabilized cam (I´m sure it will fit but…) OPEN
• superstable setup (if a crash will happen or for packing into a small bag) CHECK

It will not fit in the palm of your hand but gently in the palm of your bag… trust me

see following video but it´s a really early prototype only for testing purposes

As I can tell everybody out there the motors are the most important thing on a multirotor. I tried out different setups but I came for getting the most efficient and versatile setup for THE TICK! Today there were done different tests. I flow 3 lipo packs with 5.8Ah and the UAV is really stable, snappy and aggressive with 930gr starting weight. It is so impressive to me at the moment that I will do further tests.

Like I said before the specs are at the moment:

930gr lift off weight

5800mAh Lipo @ 3S

5×3/5×45 Props

no camera

~15 mins flight time

no enhancements done for reducing aircraft weight at the moment…

… but it´s really snappy for the lift off and flight.

If you are interested in this versatile and stable setup, transportable in a small backpack and stable enough to make professional FullHD videos by a GoPro please feel free to contact me. For actual plannings there will be two prototypes done with which I will do some tests.  But I´m sure the setup will be gorgeous for everybody who knows what is possible with this kind of small multirotors. You don´t need a TBS Discovery, no DJI Multirotor but you can do the same with better results with THE TICK.

EDIT: I did another test with different props and 15:30mins with aggressive flight are within this setup. I think everything I did the last few weeks and months is going for a successful and happy end. So the future plans are now for changing the props for higher efficiency. Props by 5×3 are not the best for this setup.

So what´s the result for you as customers? ~ 15mins flight time, really slim sized formfactor, fits in a backbag, really stable for crashes and best performance for making stable videos. That´s all of the fpv guys are looking for and never been got at the moment.

What will this setup be worth it? please comment…

This morning I met the owner of the company Mr. Zutter of Hydrocut in Neustadt bei Coburg. He will make it possible to cut out the sillhouette of the tick. He told me that Waterjet cutting has different advantges and disadvantages over milling. To be on the safe way we decided to only get the outer sillhouette done and go on with the rest being done by cnc milling later.

Hydrocut is specialized on cutting, grinding and milling special materials like ceramics and composite materials. I am sure they have really good experience with doing this so I am excited how it will look like within the next week. See the link…

http://www.hydrocut-ceramics.de/

I still have a first testframe out of aluminium but I don´t have the mounting plates for the motors yet. For this I will order a new plate soon to fit them into the rubber bumpers. Actually I planned the motormounts only with 1,5mm material but I fear that the motors will not stick correctly on the arms. This has to be done soon to go on with the TICK.

EDIT: today I found out that the bumpers for the motor mounting plates have different distances on the upper and lower side. Yeehaa! The result for this is that I don´t have to get a new carbon fibre material. It can handle the 1.5mm really good on one side.

So today I received the second prototype of the frame from high grade aluminium lasered by a 4kW machine. It looks great so far. Last things have to be done on the frame are the cuttings and holes to give it a weight diet. The total weight of the frame is right now below 160gr. With my 3mm high duty carbon fibre material it finally will be the same weight like the prototype in 2mm aluminium. The new engineered motor mounts look great and stable and will be stronger when all is done with the carbon fibre material. Maybe I abandone the plans with the pcb layers I did before. Now the plans are going more to insert the cables for the motors into the frame but there have to be done more milling to it. It´s getting more complicated with every milestone done but I still have an overview about all the stuff.

Problems occured by trying to laser the carbon fibre material. We did some tests with the 4kW Co2 laser machine but the results weren´t great. There has to be done more research on the parameters because we never tried this before. This 4kW laser is so strong that it melts the material with the high temperatures coming into it. I did some research and found out that the Trumpf Company did successful tests with lasering composite materials in the past. So there should be a way for doing it. One of the problems I see in future is that the frame alone is really filigree and complex to produce because of the cutting and milling steps have to be done.

The new motors supposedly arrived at the german customs today. Someone signed for the delivery but the package is not here. DHL gave me the information that it is at the customs right now here in Bamberg. So there will come a letter the next days which offers me to pick the stuff for paying again… AARGH. But I am sure the motors will be worth it. Most power from the smallest formfactor is what I want for this setup. For the specs there will be more than 500gr thrust at each motor to lift up the smallest gimbal driven hexacopter ever seen before. I´m sure this will be the most unique product for fpv enthusiats with travelling intentions.

I will check the next weeks to find a provider to cut the carbon fibre parts by water jet cutting machines in my area to make a first bunch of frames for the guys out there who are interested in it. More infos will follow…

So the plans for the shape of the frame are done about 80%. Today I started to get for the gimbal mounting. Everything looks good so far. I think the gimbal will fit perfectly after I did so much constructions on the frame. I am still waiting for the new motors especially constructed for this setup. They will have 38% more power to lift the whole setup. The last variable to take care will be the battery. If everything fits perfectly on the frame I will do tests with different batteries to get the best efficiency out of the take off weight in relation to the battery weight. At the moment I think 15minutes of flight time should be no problem for this small hexa. Stay tuned to see what the future will bring. Inquiries still accepted for the tick. Anyone who is supporting will get a special offer for a small lightweight and versatile hexarotor not on the market found yet and made by GERMAN construction skills. You know what I mean…

So the TICK is on the way to go for further constructions… the next few days!

The upcoming advantages of the TICK will be:

• full buffered motors (don´t ask how I did this – will be reviewed later)
• full buffered 2D gimbal
• one of the lightest 2D gimbals ever have been seen (with controller, gimbal and gopro 3 black ~170gr, don´t ask how – same as point1)
• toolless motor removal/exchange (important goal for construction but not confirmed right now)
• full carbon fibre (high density) frame
• flight times will maybe around 15 mins (with camera and gimbal)
• super stable flights (even if its windy – already tested)
• fits in nearly every backpack (even without disassembling arms, rotors, propellers or other things)
• superstrong frame materials with longitudinal strength ~3500N/mm²
• small diagonal motor distance – measurements are at the moment around 320mm
• lightweight multirotor (hexarotor) @ ~1000gr (with gopro and battery)
• high powered motors (especially choosed for this setup)
• highend and superslim ESC´s integrated into the arms (measurements 12x23mm)
• OSD
• GPS support if the pilot wants it (adds 30gr to the setup)
• super stable flights, did I mentioned this before 😉
• most parts are stock or modified from stock
• super lightweight and safety soft foam canopy which guards all the modules onboard (in construction for both the up and downside)
• full FPV capable (plans going on for up to 600mW VTX for international usage) – not confirmed at the moment
• cables planned to be integrated to the frame (pcb layout will come in later versions because of the high currents of the motors, but not sure if this will work)
• super slim setup ~41mm without battery (backpack height)
• Gimbal is built into the frame so it is more safe in case of a frontal crash

Anyone who is interested in this setup, never been seen on this planet so far, please feel free to contact me for a reservation if it will go for a series…

Testflights went on today 3 batteries are done from 2200 up to 5800mAh. The TICK can handle everything in this range. So further the tests continue to get the best of power/efficiency setup for it. But everything takes time so I think there will be more facts end of next week when I did the real life flight tests for all the stuff.

Sorry for not posting more pictures right now we are in testing for everything. If there are more facts I will post it as soon as possible…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdeci6W3HyU