The Hawk - A Mostly 3d Printed Quadcopter by PaperScarecrow

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Notes and Changelog:
1/06/19:
Added an updated motor mount designed for a RacerStar 3508 brushless motor. The originals will only work with ldpower-mt2213-920kv motors (or other motors with the same mounting hardware dimensions/body size). Also added variants of the cable route-body and racerstar 3508 motor mounts designed for 16mm carbon tubes.
Given how many mounting systems and motor sizes are out there and how little time I have due to my job I wont be able to create a model for every one of them.
I've attached an editable .f3d and .step models without the mounting holes cut, so you can re-size and place mounting holes as needed.
6/17/16:
There's now a camera mount in the files section. It clamps onto the arms next to the main body and has a central hole for a standard 1/4" universal mounting screw. It should work with any camera that can attach to the 1/4" threaded mount on a tripod.
6/9/16:
I've uploaded a hollow tube model for those who want to make this an entirely 3d printed craft. They're the ideal 230mm length version, but you can change the Z scaling to make them shorter if needed. There is a 6mm hole running through the center in case you wish to reinforce the arms with 6mm carbon fiber or fiberglass rods. I can provide a thin-walled version (internal channel would be 10mm instead of 6mm, leaving 2mm of wall thickness) as well if there's interest (for routing of wires and/or EL wire or LED strip lights).
6/6/16:
Directly gluing the blade legs to the motor mounts caused issues with attaching motor mounting screws, and allowed the legs to be easily broken off. A leg bracket that clamps onto the carbon fiber tubes using 4x m3 screws and 4x m3 nuts has been added to the files, this mount includes a mounting hole for attaching the blade leg using an additional m3 screw and nut, as well as a recessed channel for gluing the legs into the brackets. This should result in a stronger overall landing gear structure, and should allow for relatively quick leg swaps if a crash destroys one set.
A battery carriage has been added, it sits under the arms and can be attached to the frame using zip ties. The battery itself can attached to the sled using velcro, zip ties, double sided mounting tape or elastic bands. It should support a battery up to 40mm high x 60mm wide, meaning you can use a huge 4,000Mah 11.1v or a large 14.8v lipo battery.
The file labeled as "Complete Assembly" is intended only for illustration or scale info, the complete quad is far too large to be printed in one piece, unless the intention was to make a scale model for display or something.
The bottom cover has been updated, which gives 10mm more height to account for bulky wires, and includes routes for the ESCs and XT60 plug on the hobbyking power distribution board, you can find it in the files under "bottom cover with ESC routes".
The top cover has been updated to V3, which has plenty of room for both the receiver and flight controller, along with all the wires and cables and a top hole to route the sleeved antenna attached to the receiver through. You can still use the V2 if you plan to use a NAZE32 instead of the hobbyking KK, as it sits lower and doesn't require displacing the receiver to access the screen and controls.
The new cover image shows the model as it would appear fully assembled with the V3 cover and extended canopy. The old model versions can be seen in the second image.
After trying a couple 3d printed Quadcopter designs made by other users, I decided to take a crack at designing my own.
The total assembled weight (with the receiver case removed and without a battery) is 625g. The motor kit I used has a maximum airframe weight of 1.5kg (at 14.8v with the included 9.5" x 4.5" blades, max craft weight should be a little under 2kg with 10" x 5" carbon fiber blades), which should nearly a kilogram of free weight for attaching cameras or large batteries. Maximum blade size with 250mm carbon arms is around 14", just use longer arms if you need longer blades.
This version uses a majority of 3d printed parts with some fairly cheap electronics and four 14mm OD x 220-250mm length carbon fiber tubes for arms.
For PLA, print the main body and motor mounts at 25% - 35% fill density, all other components can be printed at 10% - 15% fill density.
For ABS, add an additional 5% - 10% fill density to compensate for the materials more flexible nature.
To assemble each motor mount, apply some two part plastic epoxy or strong superglue (I used white, fast-dry Gorilla Glue, which worked great on PLA) to both the top of each leg and the bottom center of each mount, take an m3 nut and an m3 bolt and insert them in their respective holes on the model (you may need needle nose pliers to insert the bolt from the inside), tighten them down and leave the assembly upside down until the epoxy/glue has cured. After this you can remove the m3 bolts and nuts from the model. The carbon fiber tubes are friction fit, but if you feel like this isn't enough you can drill a 3mm hole through the carbon fiber using the top hole in each motor mount, then inserting an m3 bolt though and anchoring it using the m3 nut in the leg, or you can use epoxy for a more secure and permanent fit.
Once the body is assembled, secure the power distribution board to the bottom of the main body with either double sided tape or sip ties, do the same on the top of the body with the flight controller and receiver. The UBEC can sit inbetween the top and bottom sections, or can be stuffed next to the flight controller. ESCs can be attached to the carbon fiber arms using zip ties or heat shrink tubing, or can be stuffed between the top and bottom layers of the main body if the leads are long enough to reach the motors.
Attach the top cover first, then Insert the carbon fiber tubes, you can then snap on the bottom cover to complete the center of the body, add the motor mounts and assembly is complete.
Because this is my first quadcopter, I opted for cheaper electronic components, but you can substitute most of the parts for equivalent units. As is, the total non-printed components came out to around $160. Links to the electronic parts I used and the carbon fiber tubes I used are listed below. (note that )
1x Transmitter and Receiver.
4x Motors, ESC's and props (I used some ldpower-mt2213-920kv motors, you'll need to tinker with the mounts if you use something different)
1x Flight Controller
Various Servo Wires
1x UBEC to power the Flight controller and Receiver
1x Power Distribution Board or some fancy solder work
14mm OD x 13mm ID carbon fiber tubing (I bought two 500mm tubes and cut them in half for the arms, if you can find 220-250mm lengths then you can save a step)
Printed parts list:
4x Motor mounts
4x Blade legs
1x Main body
1x Top cover (current version)
1x Bottom cover (current version)