ULTIMATE MOD OF THE SHOGUN FRAME (and one Walkera part)

[borneobear]

This is my first thread here.
In a big way, this is a continuation of my other thread at RCUniverse, the Ultimate #36 Mod Thread (& Shogun Parts):
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_4365788/mpage_1/key_/tm.htm

[borneobear]

I bought this set of shogun V2 frame from Jeff of xmseller:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/DSCF0261-1.jpg

I did not buy the whole V2 kit, as I knew full well I'd be modding this thing top to bottom based on my experience with the Walkera #36 modifications earlier.

Other than the shogun frame, I rely heavily on Align Trex parts - as I believe they are of superior design, quality and durability.

[borneobear]

However, firstly I would like to thank Jim P. (Hornet 32 - rcgroups.com) for donating these Trex CNC bearing cases for this mad mod cause. Without these, this mod would never have materialized:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/DSCF0149.jpg

[borneobear]

As a comparison to my fully modded 36 bird, the shogun V2 frame is both tiny and skinny:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/DSCF0264.jpg

The xmseller V2 is made of G10 material, which I found to be strong, light and very (very!) rigid.

My only dissapointment was on how short it was in both height and lenght. Here's a comparison one placed on top the other:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/DSCF0262.jpg

This thread would therefore be dedicated to the modification of these five areas:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/bbcdscf0264.jpg

[borneobear]

To start off the mod, I thickend the middle of the frame, where I will be installing the Trex bearing case - I prefer this case as opposed to the stock V2 case as I like the larger Trex bearing, which would translate to better rotational support and durability.

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaDSCF0272.jpg

The material used here is also G10, which I had scuttled from a crashed horizotal stabalizer fin. :mrgreen:

[borneobear]

On the flip side, I aligned the Trex bearing cases to the existing holes on the V2 frame (carefully) and drilled through - using the bearing case screw holes as drilling guides:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaDSCF0269.jpg


Here's a close up (red arrow: stock holes, yellow arrow: new mounting holes):
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/bbdscf0271.jpg

This is an extremely critical part of the mod. If mounting of the bearing case gets screwed up, the whole frame becomes useless. Anything that rotates at 2500 RPM if not aligned perfectly would end up in disaster.

[borneobear]

After marking the frame (above picture), I drilled through on to the other side of the frame:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/asDSCF0274.jpg

[borneobear]

And made a big hole for the bearing case guide. I rebuilt the guide hole by first filling it up with CA powder, then CA liquid, and then mounting the bearing case on. This compresses the glue mixture to form a hard strong structure around the guide. Here's a close up of the finished guide:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/asDSCF0276.jpg

[borneobear]

For the other half of the frame, I repeated the process of adding the extra G10 support, but to speed things up (mainly to ensure the bearing case mounting holes are exactly aligned), I pressed the two frames together. To ensure the are exactly aligned, I used a few 'guide' bolts (black arrows), and pressed the two sides with a baby vice:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/assDSCF0276.jpg

I then used the already existing mounting holes of one side to drill through on to the other frame (red arrow).

[borneobear]

With the above, I get a perfectly aligned mounting holes for the lower bearing case.

[borneobear]

Next was the top bearing case.
To do the top, it was necessary to set up my drive system, so I'd know exactly the space required between the top and bottom bearing cases:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/assssDSCF0276.jpg

[borneobear]

From the outside, it became very clear that I didn't have enough frame to work on! (red arrows):

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/asssssDSCF0276.jpg

Here's a close up = there is just not enough G10 to due to the 'shortness' of the Shogun V2 frame:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/assssssDSCF0276.jpg

[borneobear]

To mount the bearing case, an additional extension of the frame was required. I used CF plate which I build from crashed CF blades :mrgreen: :

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aab1DSCF0290.jpg

[borneobear]

To ensure good bonding, I compress the two layers using the baby vice. CA bonds very well with CA and G10:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabDSCF0285.jpg

[borneobear]

After bonding, the surface below was re-built using CA and CA powder:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aab1DSCF0290.jpg

This is the end product:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabDSCF0292.jpg

[borneobear]

The bottom case bearing case mounting is also rebuilt in the same manner:


http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabDSCF0294.jpg

[borneobear]

Next up is to enlarge the opening for the main gear. The shogun main gear (about 130T) is much smaller than the Trex Align gear (150T). The size and shape of the opening is as per my existing mod-ed #36 (arrow):

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaabb1dscf0294.jpg

Sawing away:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb2DSCF0296.jpg

[borneobear]

This enlarged 'hole' was later filed to smooth:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb4DSCF0298.jpg

On one side of the frame only - I enlarged the opening to enable me to take out the Align main gear out from the frame cage totally. There is enough material to cut out at the tail side - unlike my # 36, where I had to dismantle the whole frame just to take out the main gear (yellow line):

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabbx2dscf0296.jpg

[borneobear]

Next is the motor mount which also had to be shifted due to the larger main gear. The motor mount holes is moved 4 mm further forward:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaabb4dscf0298.jpg

It was absolutely critical to have the motor mount holes to be exactly horizontal as per the original motor mount holes. In the picture above, the old motor mount holes has been re-pluged using CA powder and CA.

[borneobear]

Next is extending the tail boom support, so that it is similar to the #36 tail support dimension:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaabbb1dscf0294.jpg

This was achieved in the similar way as the extension of the upper bearing case - by adding carbon fibre plate which I had built using pieces of CFs from my crashed Hyperion blades:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb10DSCF0298.jpg

[borneobear]

I decided to glue the tail boom supports directly on to the frame. This was to ensure the tail boom is kept exactly horizontal to the air frame in general:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb12DSCF0298.jpg

[borneobear]

This is how I made sure the yet-to-be glued CNC supports hold the boom horizontal to the air frame:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb7DSCF0298.jpg

I used ballancer bubbles which I taped horizontally to both the frame and boom:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb8DSCF0298.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb9DSCF0298.jpg

[borneobear]

And therefore, this is the end product of both the bearing case(s) mod and tail boom extension:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb13DSCF0298.jpg

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aabb14DSCF0298.jpg


Edit: I needed to extend the tail support by 17 mm as I am running 453 grooved belts which I bought from Dave of Heliworkz.com. Only $ 2!! :D

[borneobear]

Concerning the motor mounts - on this frame, the motor mount also comes with the mounts for the two front servos:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/AAADSCF0257.jpg

Therefore, when I moved the motor mount further to the front, the servo mount also moved, with no place for mounting!:
http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aaabb2adscf0294.jpg

Yellow arrow is the original servo support mounting.

[borneobear]

Well, the solution is pretty easy. I just lopped off the front section of the frame which I wasn't going to use, and use it to extend the servo mount:

http://i40.photobucket.com/albums/e218/borneobear/aadscf0305.jpg

Red arrows are the parts cut off, to make the servo mount extensions (yellow arrow).