Finished 3D Printed Hexacopter

Now using APM 2.6, 6HGPS and a CDR box for the electronics compartment.
Build files: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1168629
For hub close-ups http://blog.lowres.xyz/2015/11/hexacopter-new-central-hub-setup.html

Flying the Hexacopter

Putting the Hexacopter through its paces and playing around with the Gopro.
32 Minute flight time that day. Quite blustery too.

Oops Crash

Well I can not put it down to learning to fly, I forgot to hookup the low voltage alarm, and it just dropped out of the sky....from 30m :( Print a new hub/frame and should be good to go.

Hexacopter New Central Hub Setup

New improved hub to locate 16mm arms and 4mm pins to lock the arms in place.

Top level for hanging the two 5000mah batteries and fixing the electronics.

  Lower carriage for carrying camera.

Printed with PLA @ 25% Honeycomb fill.

Velco tabs for fixing the batteries in place.

Creating a Hexcopter Iteration 2

Creating a Hexcopter Iteration 2

After the first iteration, the results of which I am really happy as a first effort. There were some things that needed to improve:

• Less complicated central hub mechanism which does not rely on super glue to hold the Carbon Fiber arms into the Hub brackets.
• Really wanted to get GPS and flight planning, alt hold loiter and all those nice things, all things the KK board will not do.
• 17minute flight time was a bit on the short side and really wanted to get to over 30 minutes.

So:

• Redrew the central hub and instead of having the hing mechanism, replaced it with a solid 6 pronged part, including location holes for pins which would be used to hold the Ø16mm Arms.
• After checking round the 3DR APM flight computers looked like a good value purchase and I ended up buying a bundle from Banggood; APM 2.8, Power Module, GPS/Compass unit, Telemetry.
• Batteries, replace the single 4000mah battery with 2x 5000mah batteries connected in parallel. Try and keep the center of gravity just below the rotors.

Creating a Hexcopter Iteration 1

Creating a Hexcopter Iteration 1
First Flight using Hobbyking KK2.1.5 Board, 11" x 5 Props, S4 4000Mah Battery, span between motors is 710mm

 

The first flight, infact the first time flying a copter of any sort.... PID settings need some work...