Building a DIY 3D Printed FPV Race Quad

[@HenryJaeger-cx4xd]

Do you think you can post a video of the electronics assembly and programming with the controller and goggles? I am looking to build one of the drones but I am not a pro when it comes to drone electronics. This would be great!

[@Rulusto]

Just a fair warning, never put your FPV goggles down with the lenses facing up. Especially on a sunny day, the sun can damage or destroy the screens because of the lenses. Also one material i can recommend for this frame, lightweigh PP (polypropylene) filament, it's really durable for it's weight.

[@stickboyfpv4742]

Thats ppe😊 same thing aunt jomomma bottles are made out of😜

[@Hood.Housekeeping]

And never buy dji because you have to register all your personal data to China and constantly check in. If you do not the drone won’t work. Your basically renting the ability for China to spy on everyone with the ability to fly a pretty drone

[@fangthewarrior]

The fact the arms are 3D printed and made of PLA actually might be the best thing about this design. Intended or not it gives the overall structure a consistent and easy to replace point of failure. A sacrificial part, cheap to make and easy to replace. All while still being rigid in flight! Awesome!

[@Oddman1980]

This is something I learned when I tried replacing plastic control arms on RC trucks with aluminum. I just ended up finding the next breakable thing, and it was harder to replace.

[@idiot528]

Yeah but ideally it should not break often. Maybe like over 30 uses it breaks once because beyond that its more worth in the long term just to use materials more suited to the purpose.

[@PeterSripol]

Ok print another and let’s try for 200mph 😂

[@michaelrechtin]

Why stop there? The world record is only 224mph….

[@Lenevor]

@@michaelrechtin “only” 💀

[@m14srv]

The closer you get to the world record the More it looks like a rocket where the middle is a lifting body 😂

[@Skepticof]

Please make a cinelifter version that can carry a dslr. Please please please​@michaelrechtin

[@mastermaker666]

I think I speak for more than just myself when I say that we would really love is a printed drone built for range and duration, something that would be genuinely usable as a tool(inspection, overview of area etc.) while also being cheap and easy to repair....

[@butcher]

Yeah but carbon won't break, so don't need to be repared, also lighter, simpler. 3D printed drone doesn't make sense at all. I've done it four years ago, as I said, pointless :)

[@peterklemenc6194]

@@butcher Anything will absolutely brake upon impact....having the ability to quick-print and swap for cheap is the future.

[@definingslawek4731]

@@peterklemenc6194 I see you don't have experience with fpv drones. Carbon frames are really cheap and buying spare arms is also very cheap. They don't regularly break on impact and it takes QUITE the beating to actually get them to break. My last frame took probably over 30 impacts before breaking. Then it's just a matter of swapping the arm. 3d printing a fpv drone frame is just not a practical project. Granted Michael was doing it for fun/ for the project and that's great.

[@Code2CraftCreations]

@@definingslawek4731 I can print a carbon fiber nylon frame for cents on the dollar. I have no clue what you are trying to get at. Granted this is all under consideration that you have a 3D printer that can print high quality engineering parts. Also you control the design when you 3D print one and I can quite easily scale it up and make a bigger one.

[@Argosh]

​@@definingslawek4731let me blow your mind... The first drones, the one that literally started this hobby, were often 3d printed. You absolutely can do it.

[@raymondelder5004]

You should try printing the arms out of polypropylene, it's not rigid like carbon fibre but still has some stiffness. I printed a drone out of it and crashed it many times... no frames broken!

[@Gravitation3Beatles3]

Thanks a bunch for the CAD design for free! Totally going to make this sometime Woah! Sooner than later… don’t gotta wait for a printer. Amazing Sponsor, didn’t know that was a service!

[@NOBODY-579]

please continue your 100mph RC car project..

[@DreadCell-Productions]

I agree!

[@jspikeball123]

yep looking forward to updates on that

[@Stojce_]

real

[@getacookie4458]

PLEASE

[@andrewborntrager7909]

Yes we need that!

[@NicholasRehm]

4-minutes repair is pretty sick. Makes me wonder if there's any official drone assembly speed runs for you to beat haha

[@genjitsu7448]

Nice project. I am still relatively new to FPV drones and some of the fun of the hobby is the building and in your case here, designing parts. I do like the look of the arms, the skeletonizing for weight and strength that was applied to it is very cool.

[@thinkflight]

I am convinced. Downloading files now.

[@DanielJohnFPV]

Works surprisingly well! With a bit more though into motor choice and battery size, you'd have a really viable drone! The DJI OSD thing is a super common bug/annoyance - it's pretty easy to fix

[@ChrisTuttle]

Why didn’t you reverse the direction you insert and mount the arms from below? It seems if they slot in vertically from the top, the motor lift direction could possibly pull the arms out. Thanks for the video!

[@first-thoughtgiver-of-will2456]

i bet you could tune around the resonance points with varied thickness foam or neoprene on the motor mount

[@philip_fletcher]

Brilliant! What are the chances of getting this sub 250g?

[@devinpauley6520]

Why don’t you design it to where the arms slide in from the bottom? Seems to me you could just about eliminate the screws and the heat inserts if you did that since the thrust would push the arms in instead of trying to pull them out?

[@KarasCyborg]

Are there any drones that can be solar charged when they return to their landing pad, and take off almost immediately after being switched on, like a 5 second take off from power up?

[@maxsioulas7794]

Thanks for vid, just got my a bambu lab p1s and loving it and im building your stuff

[@ItsEwan]

Also the files are amazing I have had no trouble assembling the printed parts

[@linkspyder]

Hi. Great stuff; no updates on this one? maybe a 3.5" or even a 4" size frame? that would be great. Thanks

[@MCsCreations]

Brilliant work, Michael! Really well done!!! 😃 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@micahjorgenson8057]

PLEASE make an assembly video. I’m just getting into the hoppy and I’m starting with a TinyWhoop but then I want to upgrade to a 5 inch and I think this is the one since I also just got the Bambu labs a1 (Although I don’t think my printer can print CF nylon) I’m not good at soldering or any of that kind of stuff so an assembly video would be amazing. Love your videos.

[@JudeMakes]

One Tip, DONT LEAVE YOUR GOGOLES TOWARDS THE SUN. All in All an amazing video. Keep it up

[@justinedwards6073]

Did you change motor orientation? Or did you solder the wire around for the upper left motor to go to the bottom right of the ECB of the speedy we're the one is located?

[@BatiBat0o]

Just subscribed to your channel. I've always wanted an FPV and since I recently got a 3d printer, we'll why not. Thanks alot

[@CineFPV-v9m]

You should move the 03 to the front so when you are flipped upside down you can see

[@kingnothingfpv2303]

This guy literally flies in real "Straw Bale" track from Liftoff :))))

[@Brian_Jordan]

What screws did you get to mount the motor? the ones that comes with the motor are too short to make is through the print.

[@danielpas368]

I seen cnc kitchen did a video recently on extra strength with a stacked layers, maybe worth looking into that, might add a little extra strength to get out of crashes with almost no damage.

[@abhibhavsharma6697]

can you please provide a electrical circuit diagram of the connections we have to make ? it would be great help

[@Dany9353Lx]

You are crazy mate another awsome project

[@GamingwithJacob-db9gw]

Does the dgi camera have to connect to the dgi goggles or can it connect to a different brand of googles? And do thwy have to be with a dgi controlller?

[@NuclearHerps]

Love how he showed us how to put everything together and how to wire it all up. Also, I ordered everything. Currently trying to put it together and the screws for the motors are not long enough 😑

[@shahwazkk]

hi, do you have separate video just for the assembly and wiring?

[@hiddesluijs2007]

hi, i've never flown a drone ever. could you make a video of how to set everithing up? including soldering?

[@DrDoohickie]

This is cool. Since you are in Ohio, you should bring this to MRRF this summer. Also, I'd love to see how it flies with all CF Nylon or CF PET.

[@benm3403]

Hi Micheal! Really enjoyed your video. I'd like to learn more about the vibrational analysis you did and the theory behind it on the motor arms. Do you suggest any resources for this? Thanks!!

[@samuelnicholson9711]

Btw love the video. I really wanna build one of these now but have zero quad experience other than sims which I've spent quite a few hours on. Would this be a suitable first quad because of its modular, easy to fix nature or would I be better off going for something slightly less DIY? Also what goggles would people recommend for a broke uni/college student trying to get into FPV.

[@heatherlee7616]

I know that this is a lot to ask for but could you maybe do a detailed assembly for all of the electronics I am new to all of the electrical and would like to learn how. If you can’t it’s fine just wondering?

[@YourComputerExpert]

Are goggles absolutely required or would a video feed on a screen also do? Was thinking of making this to shoot footage while hiking with friends and such, but don't really want to bring goggles with me as well. Or are there better DIY 3D printed drones for this type of application? Also, do you recommend making all the parts out of Nylon?

[@TwixZavier]

Awesome Video! I wanted to ask tbough if there are any (cheaper) alternatives to the DJI controller for people who arent using the expensive dji camera aswell?

[@buildpws]

Great design! Do you think it could be build with less than 250gr? Are there some equivalent parts to make it cheaper as well that would you recommend?

[@thiagocolombari8117]

Hey there Michael, are the modal and FEA analyses applicable to 3D printed parts? Given that they were made layer by layer and are not 100% solid (unless you used 100% infil), as opposed to injection molded or cnc machined parts

[@woutervossebeld4664]

Even with 100% infill layer adhesion would play a role. FEA is still useful for identifying weak points though!

[@choahjinhuay]

Nice to see Peter doing some flying stuff again!

[@jakeknapke1506]

The green screen was a huge addition to this channel. Excited to see what other videos you can speak over top of

[@michaelchadwick3405]

What's the take on using aero filament from bambu labs for building drones? Do we want something more rigid like pla+?

[@eyadmohamed6421]

hi thank you for adding the files for free it really helped

[@thecoffeejesus]

This is the dopest thing I've ever seen on this app

[@OP-nj3wy]

Hello, very interesting project and impressive result ! I would like to build one, however I cant find the flight contrôler reference in the parts list, it is missing. Could you help and add it? Thank you, and looking forward to build and enjoy flying your design.

[@myname-mz3lo]

the force the motor can generate is not all the force that the drone will encounter . dropping and stopping can multiply the force . it needs to be tougher

[@samehmostafauk6975]

thanks for making the video the problem i have is the price of the DJI O3 Air Unit its about £300 can you recommend something cheaper please

[@GamingwithJacob-db9gw]

How did you connect the controller to the drone

[@anthonycooper1340]

What classes should I take to learn stuff like this?

[@autonoob]

Nice to see. I thought 3d printed frames were weak and heavy. Might try this, a new cf arm takes two months to arrive :/ Here’s a thought, what about each arm is two separate pieces with the layers in 90 degrees to each other when combined. Better strength?

[@Team_Reaper_Combat]

Hey can I get some help? I’m building this now lol, and I just tried hookkg up the 03 air unit, and it decided to die. Tried plugging it in to test power up, and it let out the magic smoke. Double checked all my connections and everything seemed good. But it fried the F405 stack. Got any ideas? Motors and some other components still on the way, but yeah I soldered that up and it failed. Also it feels like Km missing something, wouldn’t you need a receiver for it to communicate with controller, or does the 03 flight unit take care if that?

[@ClayMartin-h7p]

Regarding your last statement, the DJI o3 air unit has a built in SBUS. So it is the receiver :)

[@Rocketboy737_]

This is awesome gonna build one for my self. What would you recommend a cheep FPV system, also please include a parts list and any future tunes

[@KnetiKFPV]

analog systems are the cheapest

[@marktsarenko3943]

Dude just buy a carbon fiber frame, spend $30 more and make a lighter and better drone

[@Rocketboy737_]

But I have a 3D printer and nothing better to do soooooo I’m gona stick with this option thanks anyway

[@marktsarenko3943]

@@Rocketboy737_ please don’t be a fool, your gonna hate your life

[@Rocketboy737_]

Well no difference then but I will probs do both

[@literally_not_kevin]

What FC board did you use?

[@EliasBarkley]

What flight controller did you use, I can't see the link to it in the parts list?

[@michaelrechtin]

Just added it!

[@EliasBarkley]

Thanks

[@kevinhowe6307]

So impressive!!!

[@Kiwikiwi124]

where did you get the capacitor?

[@Antsmith21]

Great work I love the frame and I’m gonna print it!!

[@Fulcra]

I can print and follow instructions but I know nothing about electronics and programming lol. I would LOVE to build this if you made a more in depth video on it.

[@migueldias1873]

Absurdly good content man, congrats!

[@OP-nj3wy]

Thank you !

[@Erowens98]

The ease of replacing components is definitely a huge advantage to 3d Printing. I think it more than makes up for the lower durability.

[@lordjeffery10]

carbon rarely breaks and is quite cheap (~$45) for its durability. It shouldn't need to be consumable. Almost like planned obsolescence.

[@Erowens98]

@@lordjeffery10 depends on how often you crash. Also $45 is a lot of money for some people, and way more than the dollar a printed part costs.

[@adili9427]

How much did this cost overall?

[@mety_twister431]

Man, big thumbs up, It really flies great, there are some vibrations but nothing crazy. Also just a tip, it looks like you could fit some bigger props on there, like 5,5inch or maybe even 6"? you can try it out to and get more drag and efficiency😃

[@divingfalconfpv4602]

Yea if front & rear prop tips don't hit each other it could

[@Toonj00]

i tried today with 6 inch props and they fits great

[@kieren7763]

Ive designed and printed alot of drone frames i have narrowed it down to a pretty good design its basically an x frame the arms have a triangle profile they dont have to be overly thick and i design tubular holes through the arms so i can slide carbon firbe rods or tubes in there so its basically a printed frame with a skeleton inside you can also run lower infill as the carbon keeps it stiff i think you could shave alot of weight doing it that way

[@burtonrider316]

hey the motors you used are currently unavailable. could you make a suggestion for another motor?

[@33rdframe]

Pretty cool design. I want to challenge you to a race woth my 3D printed Cinema drone😂

[@tysk5729]

I wasnt planning to subscribe to you, But than you started handing out free drone stl's❤

[@qcrock]

What is the weight the drone fully assembled?

[@Wilso94]

awesome stuff! just printed mine in PLA, I'm going to do another one in PLA CF or PETG CF, which would you recommend? Thanks mate!

[@PaulReitmeier]

how much did the projet cost?

[@benjaminreifenrath9498]

how much could that drone lift?

[@jj_0]

It`s nice, as someone who is currently experimenting with custom 3D printed whoop frames, that I`m not the only one still trying this out. :D

[@ErikThiart]

Would love to print this drone !

[@diggsit69]

What’s the total weight of just the Frame? An you need to improve the arms strength so they don’t break as easy! I do like the Simplicity of this frame an it’s design, good job! 😉

[@haka8702]

Looks like a step forward but not optimized for 3d printing, the durability would be very good if this was an injection mold but as a 3dprint it's not durable. But great ideas incorporated, especially the arms for easy replacement.

[@neko_striker]

Best crossover

[@traveling.down.the.road56]

I’m a complete amateur with drones, but want to learn more and get better at flying them. What is the range for this drone before you lose signal, and does it auto return when the signal is lost? You earned my subscription.

[@BalooG-rq9mu]

Peter!

[@ValRC1]

Looks pretty awesome! I wonder if it would've survived those crashes if the arms were also made from cf-nylon

[@Schradermusic]

Where the hell did you find an O3 for 200?

[@reinekewf7987]

i building fpv racing planes with a pan and tilt cam and back driven holow dual inline holow shaft counter rotating props. this means i have one motor and 2 counter rotating props on one driveshaft connected over a gearbox thats transfers the rotation over a inner drive shaft and a outer drive shaft. i fly only with analog video becauase it is more relyable as digital even the qualitiy is less optimal and degrades over distance but it will never cut out without any signs. i have a special reciver that is able to pickup the signal over 5km with decent quality

[@akozhukhovskiy]

@michaelrechtin, please get some information about RC-plane from this video. Motors, wingspan and etc. Looks very cool, I want to assemble same plane.

[@DSdvdDS]

Dang, you are doing collab videos with Peter. Keep up the great videos!

[@DanteEhome]

So cool.

[@dtct2412]

What was the cost of the build? Thinking of doing this as project with a group of 14 -16 year olds

[@emotions9083]

I wold Say something like 300-400dollars without the Googles and remote

[@ItsEwan]

Sorry to ask but could you do a more in-depth electronic review(I have printed all of the parts but just can’t justify spending the best part of £400 on this) it is the best one out there though

[@meanman6992]

Would a very thin skin on those arms cause less turbulence?

[@akshaysfpvandmtb2696]

Looks very cool!! How much does it weigh??

[@kathandave3807]

hey sir can you please file of design of drone body and also about software. pleaseeeeeeeeeee

[@SadPanda449]

Which heat inserts do you use?

[@802Garage]

So cool! Just had to leave a comment.

[@woutervossebeld4664]

I love the idea of designing your own quad frame. And I have a couple notes. Pla is probably a better choice for the arms than cf nylon, its quite a bit stiffer. Also strength and vibration analysis aren't very accurate for 3d printed plastic since 3d prints are hollow and layer adhesion plays a role. They are useful for identifying weak spots though!

[@alansimmons-b8s]

hey you know for the first 3d printed drone can you send me the stl files for the drone and motors pls

[@ClayMartin-h7p]

I noticed that he is kinda just letting the capacitor float on the back of the drone which seems pretty unsecure. Has anyone who has printed this frame found a better place for the capacitor to sit? Or maybe bend it more down then tape it to the frame? just seems like a unlucky crash could rip off the capacitor...

[@DronePH-2024]

WOW NICE HAPPY FLYING👍👍👍

[@MoeDefinitely901]

I've been waiting on the day to see a 3d printed fpv drone. This deserves a trillion views.

[@WKfpv]

Well my first FPV drone was 3D printed and it was back in 2015, I still keep the frame on a shelf.

[@MoeDefinitely901]

@@WKfpv wow. I'm new to fpv and behind I see. I thought I would've seen more 3d printed stuff with the rabbit hole I've gone down. 7 months and this is the first I've seen 🤯