Carbon Gimbal Arches kit shipped

[AZ ChopperCam]

All packaged up and shipping out tomorrow AM. I never did get the little aluminum spacers from McMaster. They are still on back order, but I didn't want to keep y'all waiting any longer so I am shipping them without the spacer.

The spacer is not really needed. It just aids in assembly by holding the frames together while you fit and install the HDPE pieces.

When I get the spacers, if any of you want them I will send them out in a small envelope. Or, for a few cents you can get one at a hardware store.

The manuals are printed and contain a parts list page. That page shows part numbers for other things you'll need and where to get them. Also contains estimated prices for those parts.

You can also download the manual here. It's hi-res and printable quality so if you want to have a copy now while you wait for the kits to arrive you can print them out.

www.azchoppercam.com/raptorcam/manual.zip

Within a few weeks I hope to have the Askman frame mounts for these gimbals for those of you who wish to go that route. More on that when I get more info.

[dreslism]

Sweet, can't wait.

What shipping method are you using? Priority mail? :D

[askman]

you should have first batch in about 10 days. (programming is done, just need to cut and wait for some of the materials to show up) anyway, good job on your gimbal kit.

[AZ ChopperCam]

Priority mail?

affirmative

you should have first batch in about 10 days.

great! now I need to have Mark at MJP Carbon cut me the 3 discs for the isolation mount

[dreslism]

Hey DJ,

In the manuals parts list page, the 2.3 mm drill bit part number and the 3mm drill bit part number are the same, and they are incorrect. They pull up some spacer.

Did you have the correct number, I want to make sure i get the same thread spacing as the 3mm bolts.

Thanks

[AZ ChopperCam]

damn... I thought I fixed that before printing them. arghhh.

www.mcmaster.com

2.3mm drill - #2958A52
3mm drill - #2958A61

I'm sure there are probably a couple other minor discrepancies. technical writing/drawing is not my strong suit. I will revise them as needed :oops:

[dreslism]

Did you have a part number on those spacers that did not show up?

[AZ ChopperCam]

13/16" aluminum spacer - #92510A065

this spacer is unthreaded and needs to be threaed with a 3mm tap.

[dreslism]

Thanks for the updated part numbers, ordered up all my stuff and will ship in the morning.

Just curious, any design reason why 3mm x 10mm bolts were used and tapped into the hdpe instead of just drilling through and bolting all the way through both carbon plates and the hdpe like on the servo mount with a 30mm bolt and locknut?

Seems like it would be less work, but there must be some reason.

Thanks,

[AZ ChopperCam]

no reason. that could be done. I preferred the symetrical look of socket heads on both sides. plus assembly is a bit easier that way too.

the servo mounts are done with through-screws cause they really need to be torqued down to lock the servo in place, but other than that either method of the rest of the screws will work.

[dreslism]

Thanks for the reply, off to add a bag of 3x30mm bolts to my order! Then I can get this thing done faster and without having to deal with the tap. I hate I have to buy a bag of 100 of them, but I have looked locally in the past and cannot find metric stuff anywhere, so my bin of metric stuff is growing...

[AZ ChopperCam]

RTL Fasteners will sell metric stuff in lower quantities but I find that I prefer to buy bags of 50 or 100. after a while you end up with a nice collection and when you're a fiddler like me it comes in handy :D

[dreslism]

RTL Fasteners will sell metric stuff in lower quantities but I find that I prefer to buy bags of 50 or 100. after a while you end up with a nice collection and when you're a fiddler like me it comes in handy :D

Yeah, that is what I was saying also. I bought my first heli in late February of this year. At that time I had not a thing of metric. Just had a set of metric hex wrenches.

Now my collection is growing after a few orders from McMasters, lots of m2, m3 and m4's.

Plus when it is basically only about $5 for a bad of 100 of them I can't complain to much.

It's just funny that I need like 20 bolts for this whole gimbal, and I ended up buying 400 bolts.

Works out good for you as you may sell a whole kit when you get all the goods.

I found one local hardware store that has a VERY limited metric supply, and each bolt is like .50 - $1, so that really sucks.

[dreslism]

Man I love Mcmasters.

I ordered at 2:30 AM Monday morning, and it all showed up today!! One day shipping via ups, man that's good.

I cut all my hdpe last night in hopes the postman was bringing me a package from AZ, but no luck today...

It better show up tomorrow so I can get this thing mounted up as I'm heading on vacation friday for another 10 days and the heli is coming!

[AZ ChopperCam]

so Scott,

are you going front mount on this or just going to put this gimbal on your underslung m ount?

If youre going front mount I can explain how to modify for pan control if that's of use to you.

[AZ ChopperCam]

2 things

1.you may need to slightly enlarge the holes in the carbon a few thousands for the 1/2" tubes if building the tube version. The tolerance is tight and sometimes a little hit with a dremel and small sanding drum is all it takes.

2. I am working on something tonight for the lower gimbal that will cut its weight by at least 50%. no HDPE for the lower gimbal on this and really easy to make. Same concept but HDPE parts are substituted with G10 or carbon.

remember fellas, this is always a work in progress. I'm always evolving the design. it'll work fine building it per the 1st round instructions or you can make the mods after I post them. hope that doesn't irritate anyone.

[dreslism]

so Scott,

are you going front mount on this or just going to put this gimbal on your underslung m ount?

If youre going front mount I can explain how to modify for pan control if that's of use to you.

Since I am leaving for vacation friday, this gimbal is just going on my underslung mount for now. I don't have enough time to tweak it for smoothness on the front mount.

I had a front mount on my swift heli before the raptor and I could never smooth it out enough, so I don't want to risk any shots over vacation because I ran out of time.

My gimbal right now weighs over 1 lb by itself. This should lighten my whole mount up a lot for now, and give me better tilt.

I am also running the eccpm mod up front, so slightly different than your plans anyways.

I think I will get one of the askman mounts when you get it, but I am not sure yet.

I fly over a lot of water up north during the summer, and I like that if it is windy that I can just reverse the mount and fly tail in if needed with the underslung, but I am also dying for the front mount with Pan as I have had automated pano's on my mind for a long time!

I'll probably end up doing it all and might just pick up another set of carbon plates from you so I can have both the underslung and the front.

[dreslism]

2 things

1.you may need to slightly enlarge the holes in the carbon a few thousands for the 1/2" tubes if building the tube version. The tolerance is tight and sometimes a little hit with a dremel and small sanding drum is all it takes.

2. I am working on something tonight for the lower gimbal that will cut its weight by at least 50%. no HDPE for the lower gimbal on this and really easy to make. Same concept but HDPE parts are substituted with G10 or carbon.

remember fellas, this is always a work in progress. I'm always evolving the design. it'll work fine building it per the 1st round instructions or you can make the mods after I post them. hope that doesn't irritate anyone.

Irritate? :bomb: :bomb: :bomb:

Just kidding, I know the hdpe is heavy, but it is real cheap and easy to work with. I need to bite the bullet and get some G10 myself, I thought the G10 was a lot cheaper than carbon, but it still seems pricey compared to the hdpe.

How do you cut the G10, and where is a reasonably priced place to buy it at?

[AZ ChopperCam]

I cut it with either a router or band saw. I get it at McMaster... they've got almost everything you'd ever need.

I'll post up pics of the lower gimbal in a little bit.

the HDPE version weighed 130 grams the new G10 version weighs 59 grams. quite a difference. my concern was it woudl be too flimsy but so far that doesn't seem to be a worry afterall.

[askman]

g-10 is lot cheaper than CF, but still more than plastic. I use lot of g-10, as it is almost as strong as CF at slight weight penalty. it is also about 25% of CF price. they are both hard to cut. I use high speed spindle with carbide bits on my CNC. (bits are expensive) it is not easy to cut cleanly, and you need to wear some form of breathing protection. you can cut with bandsaw, but you will wear out blade fast. g-10 is bit easier to cut than CF.

[AZ ChopperCam]

here's the newer G10 version. the G10 is .083" thick. it is glued to the carbon tubes. it's quite strong!

[miami6]

looking good so far

[dreslism]

DJ,

Got my kit at lunch today! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Threw it together over an *extended* lunch, and I noticed the tilt belt does not line up, it is cocked pretty good and looks as if it might slip off.

I thought I cut the hdpe for the servo mounts wrong so that the servo did not stick out enough to line up with the big wheel.

Then I looked at picts of your setup, and all your setups have the wheel on the inside of the lower gimbals triangular hdpe so that the belt lines up, but your kit instructions show it on the outside of the lower gimbals triangular hdpe.

Which way is right for the kit?

No biggie, just threw me, and I ran out of time at lunch to get it done, so hopefully I can finish after dinner tonight and take it for a spin.

Thanks

[AZ ChopperCam]

I have done it both ways. a few washers or spacer can be used. I can show some pics later when I get home. once spaced properly it lines up perfectly. Also you may need to flip the pulley around so the protruding hub is on the outside

I need this feedback to perfect the manual so speak up guys. I can take it ;)

you guys can feel free to call me any time with any questions

602.743.5768

[AZ ChopperCam]

another thing to mention... you can shave about .7oz off of the pulley by drilling and dremeling lightening holes into them. I went dremel crazy with one last night. you don't need but just 3 or 4 small spokes to do the job. the rest is wasted and extra weight.

Here's a template you can print out and overlay onto the pulley for lightening holes.