Diabolo Build Thread

[smsodhi]

I received the Diabolo yesterday and started the build last night. I was asked to start a build thread by the Master Mercuriell...... So here it is.
I dont pretend that I know everything and if there are mistakes please point them out.
I had to dismantle what I did, and have redone it from the begining.

It comes in a very sturdy box. There was no damage to the kit.

All the bits come in a smaller box in 11 bags, the canopy and decals and boom separate.

[smsodhi]

The instructions are covered well on the minicopter site and John has done a great build video, I will just go through things as i go and let you know of any tips that may be of use.

The bearing blocks are assembled onto the frame and the mainshaft has to be in line with the cutout. It helps to put the shaft through the bearing blocks before tightning. The bearings have flanges and the flanges should face each other in the build i.e the top bearing flange faces down and the bottom faces up.



Note the thicker flange on the bearing below



Mainshaft parallel to the cutout in the mainframe

[smsodhi]

The first stage gearing assembly is assembled as in the pics. Note the spacer, and that the flanged bearing in the lower bearing block faces upwards. I needed a shim to eliminate some end play.





Note the position of the spacer below and the orientation of the shaft.



The sleeve on the mainshaft below is an upgrade to the kit now provided since first release.



Is it just me or do the gears below move, when you move the pic up and down a bit?

[smsodhi]

On to bag 3, and installation of the tail boom and tail gear unit. Attaching the tail boom was straightforward as per the manual. Make sure you take off enough of the anodized coating off the boom before installing it. I had to take more off after installing, as the boom end does not sit flush with the rear boom clamp The belt has to be held in place once through the tube and especialy once the tail gear unit is in place. The belt has to be turned 90deg to the right as looking down the boom to the main rotor gear unit. Dont even try to put the belt back through the tail boom if it falls out . Hold it in place with a driver and save some time. I have tried to show the order in which the pieces are installed in the pics. I used a 0.1mm shim and found it easier to put the tail gear pieces in the unit with the help of the shaft, bit by bit. I put the spacer next to the bearing.





Take off a bit more of the anodizing than this lengthwise.









Try to keep the belt from turning and falling back through the boom before installing the tail gear.



Note the direction of the flange on the spacer below.

[Mercuriell]

Looks great - thanks so much for sharing - it's a lot of work to do pics and upload them !!

It certainly is a lovely heli to work on - I have some electronics problems resulting in having to ditch a flight into a palm tree - I am not hurrying the repairs as I enjoy working on the mechanics so much.

I've taken the liberty of embedding the attachments/pics in the post to save folks clicking on each image to view - one thing you can do is tol put little snippets of text by each photo explaining what is going on and any tips

You gonna worry about the cardboard tube ??

Keep up the good work !

[Mercuriell]

DO you have much backlash in the main gear on the rotor shaft? - it is secured by the M4 bolt and although very precisely machined there is just a hint of backlash dut to the tolerance between the jesus bolt and the shaft hole - I asked Gerd about a pinch collar on the main hub but he wasn't keen as he thought it might weaken it. It's probably of no matter but I did take the opportunity during my repairs recently to put a 0.3mm slot in the hub which enables it to pinch the shaft and remove any play.

[smsodhi]

Thanks John
I have the backlash from the main rotor gear and the pinion which is machined but nil else. I have noticed though that when I installed the mainshaft there was no end play. Just now as the build is progressing some end play has come in. I have now put in a shim.
I left the bog roll in the bathroom and left it out of the boom. Don't mind a bit of slap and tickle
I normally like to rush through the build but I am really enjoying this, and don't mind taking the time. Thanks for embedding the pics it looks great.
Sorry to hear about your crash. What electrical probs did you have?

[smsodhi]

Full marks to those of you who spotted my deliberate mistake

The clamping bolts for the tail boom brackets should be pointing down not up as in my prev pic. This is to allow space for the vertical and horizontal U profile brackets



On to bag 4



The frame stiffener crossbrace gets installed now





Really well braced frames.





Then the U Profile brackets. I found it best to install the horizontal bracket first not the vertical first as shown, and to leave the bolts lose, then the vertical one. Once in place tighten up. The rear canopy holder gets installed on the rear of the horizontal bracket



Both horizontal and vertical frames in place.

[smsodhi]

Continuing on with bag 4.
The tensioner units are assembled as per manual and attached to the frame and these stop the belt from rubbing on the boom. No issues. The left upper frame is then attached to the right and the cyclic servo mount attached. I had to file some of the frame to fit the upper cyclicmount as well as the lower mount. Dont tighten the frame screws untill all are in place. The belt tensioner is then installed as shown in the pics and keeps the belt at a set tension. This now finishes bag 4.







The belt tensioner, hydraulic. Note the orientation with the spacer.







Install the tensioner to give the amount of tension you want. It is adjustable with the holes and attached with an M3 lock nut

[smsodhi]

Bag 5. Installation of lower frames and ESC plate, this has now been upgraded with countersunk screw fittings. The PVC frame connectors have the silicone tubing slid over them and it helped to do it in a basin of hot water. Installed as per manual.No real issues or tips in this section all straightforward. Just note that the M3 x 14 bolts go into the rear landing bow holders to accomadate the tail boom supports later on.





Note the frame connectors. They have been covered with silicone tubing. The batteries will be strapped to them so the tubing will help to prevent slip. Having the batteries like this helps to keep the centre of gravity near the middle of the helicopter. I used two hex drivers, one on each side of the frame to screw the connectors in place. The connectors are made of PVC and I was careful not to overtighten and not to use loctite. The front connectors with the holes in need to be installed with the holes facing upwards so the the ESC plate can screw into it. I secured it using a small screwdriver in to the bottom holes while tightning to keep it in place stoping it from turning.





The ESC tray gets screwed in to the front 2 frame connectors and they have pre drilled holes. Holes need to be made through the silicone tubing.



Countersunk screws make for a much neater finish



Landing gear supports installed now. Note the longer screws in the rear supports to take the tail boom supports later on.

[Mercuriell]

Looking great Satnam - it certainly goes together nicely ! I drilled a hole in the two cross braces that weren't pre-drilled for the ESC so I could stick a wrench in and hold it while screwing it in.

[misskimo]

Looking like mine! Sure is purty ain't it ,


T

[helicraze]

Looks good, wouldnt you know it both the lower and upper frames i assembled with wrong side!! Grrrr, looks like you got it right the first time.

[smsodhi]

Thanks for your support guys.
Now onto bag 6. Mounting the motor. I have chosen a PYRO 700-52L. The motor mount comes with a bearing preinstalled for the PYRO motors to support the shaft. Really nice system and the motor mount is solid. The pinion size is chosen on ordering the kit and i went with a 17 tooth pinion. Back lash must be set up between the motor pinion and the plastic gear and I used the amount of backlash between the first stage pinion and the mainshaft gear as a guide, about 0.3mm.



The bearing can be removed for other motors such as the Scorpions which have a thicker motor shaft.





The motor pinion position on the shaft is adjusted insitu.



Backlash adjusted. Hope its OK

[smsodhi]

Bag 7. Installation of the skids and tail. It comes with really beautiful anodized skids. The clamping mechanism is very robust and I did not bother to drill the skids and put in the small self tapping screws. I may do in the future. Seems very solid. The rear landing bow is 8mm higher than the front, and the straight edge faces forwards. The bolts that secure the clamp to the skids come in two colours, black as shown or silver. Very nice touch to add that little bit of individuality. Looks like a hot rod with the higher rear landing bow!!



The black bolts come in silver also.



HOT ROD







This now concludes bag 7.

[smsodhi]

Now onto bag 8. The installation of the servos. Have been looking forward to this. I must say that this part of the build has not been too easy. It was fiddly, though not to the fault of Minicopter. The metal sleeve supplied with the servo was too narrow for the M3 bolts. I had to leave them out. I tried installing the servos with the rubber grommets but without the sleeve they got squashed and I was not happy that the tension would hold the servos perfectly still, so I installed the servos direct. Hope this is going to be OK? Perhaps Mincopter could supply the servo screw sleeves so that they fit the M3 bolts? The rudder servo install was unique to say the least but I am sure that it is really solid.......... Now its done.












That concludes the servo install, next up the linkages and swash.

[Mercuriell]

NO problems with not using the servo grommet bushes - some servos have M3 - some have M2.5 - FUtaba do both depending on servo - as long as you have a washer between the bolt head and grommet there are no problems. I was a little concerned about some of the shear on the rudder servo wire outlet and when replacing my tail servo made a small cutout in the rear of the rudder servo cutout so it rolls in nice and easy ....

[smsodhi]

Finishing off bag 8. Swash, linkages and antirotation bracket installed. This has been done as per manual. I bought the Futaba 3mm servo horns and drilled out the outer hole 2.5mm to take the M3 bolt. It is recomended 2.7mm, I dont have a 2.7mm bit. It worked fine. These linkages are never going to come off the way they are bolted in. Everything runs smooth. I like the delrin swash leveler provided. I have not tightned and loctited everything yet. I thought I would wait untill the V Bar is installed in case I wanted to adjust any linkages. I need to trim the servo horns and I will do this with a Dremel to avoid any fissuring towards the central hole as per Johns video.



Minicopter supplies a couple of spanners to use in the tightning of the linkages. The lens headed bolts that screw into the swash are also another recent change for aesthetic reasons. Another nice touch.



This now concludes bag 8.

[smsodhi]

Now onto bag 9. The rotor head assembly. The assembly is different to what I am used to (Align). The bearing assembly needs to be assembled onto the feathering shaft and then the black anodized blade holders slipped over it and screwed into place. The blade holders need to be heated in the oven to 150 deg celcius to allow expansion and then slide over and secure in place with the bolts. On cooling it forms an inteference fit. I must admit I was a bit concerned about this but it was very simple and easy to do. There were no issues or tips all pretty straightforward. I am loving this more and more.








Gerd has upgraded the head and this is the upgraded one. It looks different to the one in the manual. Also the main shaft is a few mm shorter bringing the head down abit. The clamping mechanism to the main shaft has been made more robust.



Just take care to ensure that the bearings are level with each other. Try rolling the assembly on a glass surface or use your fingers and eye ball it. I have greased the thrust bearings.



Very smooth. No end play at all. I did not have to shim the bearings as per the manual.

[smsodhi]

The swash drivers get installed onto the rotor head. Make sure you screw the shorter lensheaded screw into the rotorhead, if you use the longer screw it wont fit on the mast. The rotor head pushrods are turnbuckle types. The spanner supplied is useful here. Very precise;y engineered, there is absoloutly no play other than from the backlash from the gears and the tiniest of lateral play from the antirotation bracket may be 0.1mm, Not much to worry about





This now concludes bag 9.