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Plexiglas Mini FPV quadcopter experimental build based on the EcksFibre design

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I’d like to report on my latest build in the quest for the perfect mini personal drone. Like the mini H quad and the mini quad for FPV builds, this is again a small quadcopter, that should be possibly slightly smaller than the last one.

I started from an EcksFibre 230mm frame as a template. The main goal is to modify the design so as to include extension plates for a mobius camera and an immersion RC 600mW video transmitter, for First Person View flight.

The EcksFibre 230mm frame
The EcksFibre 230mm frame
The plan: adding extensions for a Mobius camera and an Immersion video transmitter
The plan: adding extensions for a Mobius camera and an Immersion video transmitter

I did cut a 20x20 square of plexiglas and overlayed it to the Ecks

I did cut a 20×20 square of plexiglas and overlayed it to the Ecks
Drawing some lines with a sharpie and taking measures for the mobius
Drawing some lines with a sharpie and taking measures for the mobius
The basic frame design with the extension plates for the mobius (the bigger one) and the video transmitter.
The basic frame design with the extension plates for the mobius (the bigger one) and the video transmitter.
Starting to cut the plexiglas frame. Cutting was done with a standard Dremel diamond rotary blade.
Starting to cut the plexiglas frame. Cutting was done with a standard Dremel diamond rotary blade.
A step in cutting the quadcopter frame
A step in cutting the quadcopter frame
The frame, close to finish. Note how I also made a little plate on each side that is not originally there on the EcksFibre, to have a little bit more room for equipment.
The frame, close to finish. Note how I also made a little plate on each side that is not originally there on the EcksFibre, to have a little bit more room for equipment.
My frame compared to the EcksFibre
My frame compared to the EcksFibre
Frame finished! Getting the position of the motor holes correct proved to be more challenging than I thought. After drilling all the holes I has to make quite some adjustments (enlarge a few) to find a perfect alignment to the motor holes
Frame finished! Getting the position of the motor holes correct proved to be more challenging than I thought. After drilling all the holes I has to make quite some adjustments (enlarge a few) to find a perfect alignment to the motor holes
A while after tightening the motor screws, some cracks appeared on the plexiglas. I decided to reinforce the arms and in particular the areas under the motors, with some metal sticks. Used gorilla glue for the job.
A while after tightening the motor screws, some cracks appeared on the plexiglas. I decided to reinforce the arms and in particular the areas under the motors, with some metal sticks. Used gorilla glue for the job.
One arm of the quadcopter with two metal sticks glued in place
One arm of the quadcopter with two metal sticks glued in place

And the build summary, in a picture. Click on the picture for the full size.

Weight 381 gr w/o battery
495 gr with zippy flightmax 3S 1500 mA

A summary of the plexiglas mini quadcopter for FPV build
A summary of the plexiglas mini quadcopter for FPV build. Click for larger version

First flight tests show it hover nicely and is apparenly stable out of the box with the default KK2.1.5 board settings. I flashed the board to the latest 1.15S1 Pro firmware version. Check out our tutorial on how to update the KK2 board firmware to the last version.

Questions and comments more than welcome as usual! Please post below.

Stay tuned on the Personal Drones blog for the latest multirotor and quadcopter news!

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