NullVoxPopuli Team WarpSquad Thread OP

Discussion Picnic Quads 160mm CF + Birch Build Log Picnic Quads 160 CF Maiden Acro Flight (5 min 5 sec)



I wanted to practice flying acro in smaller spaces. I already have 2 warpquads, but they are so fast, that they are mostly not appropriate for smaller spaces. 160mm is a good size for fields even as small as a basketball court -- Though, for comfort of the power to weight ratio, I recommend at least having a soccer field's worth of space.



Stats

- Picnic Quads 160 CF + Birch

- SN20a ESCs

- RCX 3100kv 1306 Motors

- 4045* Bullnose props

- Flip 1.5 Flight Controller



* 6045 cut down to 4"





Final Result

















Build Steps





In the beginning, I like to try to plan out how things are going to be layed out, in order to try to achieve the most low-profile build possible (that I have skill to do anyway). Here you can see that there is a ton of extra wire by default.









First thing I did was to put a layer of electrical tape on all the arms where the ESCs would be touching (to protect from electrical shorts, due to Carbon Fiber being conductive). I didn't want to use double sided foam tape, because that is too heavy.



At this phase, it would also be a good idea to line the edges of the frame with CA glue. The layers of wood can separate in hard crashes... we don't want that :-)





To prepare the ESCs for use on such a small quad, I need to remove about 90% of the wires. Here I have removed the motor leads, as I'll be soldering the motors directly to the ESCs.





To simplify wiring, I wanted to try out a Power Distribution Board (PDB). It's only 4 grams, so it's not that heavy, and it probably ended up saving me a bit of frustration if I were to do a wire harness (small spaces are frustrating to route wires in). In this picture, I'm applying solder to the appropriate spots on the PDB to make attaching wires a bit quicker.





Soldered the first ESC to the PDB.





All the ESCs power leads are now soldered to the PDB.





Not shown: I removed all the signal ground wires from the ESCs. I don't have a lot of space, and the less weight the better. Also, The soldering done in this picture is just to show that I soldered directly to the flight controller. I ended up soldering all the signal leads to the other side (top side) of the flight controller, because I wanted to mount the flight controller upside down.





Just testing to make sure everything works and the build can continue. (no magic smoke!)







After soldering a motor to an ESC, I wanted to make sure the flight controller would be decently low profile. it is.





The rest of the motors are screwed on. They came with waaaaay more wire than they needed to. I could probably build a 400-500mm quad with all the wire that came with these parts.





At some point, you need to attach the velcro strap. Here I am testing the amount of space I have to secure a battery with the velcro strap.







Final weight / mass



Final Images

Steps not shown:

- Heat shrinking ESCs

- Mounting the Flight Controller Upside Down

- Changing MultiWii code to support Upside Down sensors













Happy new addition to my acro family :-)

I wanted to practice flying acro in smaller spaces. I already have 2 warpquads, but they are so fast, that they are mostly not appropriate for smaller spaces. 160mm is a good size for fields even as small as a basketball court -- Though, for comfort of the power to weight ratio, I recommend at least having a soccer field's worth of space.- Picnic Quads 160 CF + Birch- SN20a ESCs- RCX 3100kv 1306 Motors- 4045* Bullnose props- Flip 1.5 Flight Controller* 6045 cut down to 4"In the beginning, I like to try to plan out how things are going to be layed out, in order to try to achieve the most low-profile build possible (that I have skill to do anyway). Here you can see that there is a ton of extra wire by default.First thing I did was to put a layer of electrical tape on all the arms where the ESCs would be touching (to protect from electrical shorts, due to Carbon Fiber being conductive). I didn't want to use double sided foam tape, because that is too heavy.At this phase, it would also be a good idea to line the edges of the frame with CA glue. The layers of wood can separate in hard crashes... we don't want that :-)To prepare the ESCs for use on such a small quad, I need to remove about 90% of the wires. Here I have removed the motor leads, as I'll be soldering the motors directly to the ESCs.To simplify wiring, I wanted to try out a Power Distribution Board (PDB). It's only 4 grams, so it's not that heavy, and it probably ended up saving me a bit of frustration if I were to do a wire harness (small spaces are frustrating to route wires in). In this picture, I'm applying solder to the appropriate spots on the PDB to make attaching wires a bit quicker.Soldered the first ESC to the PDB.All the ESCs power leads are now soldered to the PDB.Not shown: I removed all the signal ground wires from the ESCs. I don't have a lot of space, and the less weight the better. Also, The soldering done in this picture is just to show that I soldered directly to the flight controller. I ended up soldering all the signal leads to the other side (top side) of the flight controller, because I wanted to mount the flight controller upside down.Just testing to make sure everything works and the build can continue. (no magic smoke!)After soldering a motor to an ESC, I wanted to make sure the flight controller would be decently low profile. it is.The rest of the motors are screwed on. They came with waaaaay more wire than they needed to. I could probably build a 400-500mm quad with all the wire that came with these parts.At some point, you need to attach the velcro strap. Here I am testing the amount of space I have to secure a battery with the velcro strap.Final weight / massSteps not shown:- Heat shrinking ESCs- Mounting the Flight Controller Upside Down- Changing MultiWii code to support Upside Down sensorsHappy new addition to my acro family :-) Images View all Images in thread Views: 88





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