Knuckle H-Quad - BUILD

fliteadmin

Administrator
Staff member
Admin
Moderator



Here's the step by step overview of how to assemble your
Knuckle Hub Kit into an H-Quad configuration.



Knuckle Hubs
are available seperately in our online store as well.



Straight Motor Mounts 13-370
are also available seperately in our online store.

knb-7-jpg_1381365534.jpg


You only can you build your own multirotor designs with the Knuckle Hub Kit, but you can also paint them!

knb-4-jpg_1381365548.jpg


These components are made of wood, so you can paint them any colors you'd like.

knb-6-jpg_1381365541.jpg


Here's the H-Quad setup that David created, he wanted a bright multirotor that's easy to see.

knb-3-jpg_1381365553.jpg


For those of you who would like to make your own, here are the free PDF templates. Download here.


 

Cyberdactyl

Misfit Multirotor Monkey
Awesome Flitetest.

This should be a real winner in that it's simple as can be to build, sturdy as heck, and inexpensive.

Where does Chad get all these ideas?

Not sure, but meditating may be the source. . . ;)

 

StoneKap

Executive Producer
Admin
Moderator
Mentor
Awesome Flitetest.

This should be a real winner in that it's simple as can be to build, sturdy as heck, and inexpensive.

Where does Chad get all these ideas?

Not sure, but meditating may be the source. . . ;)


This is funny! Did you photoshop that?... 'cause I don't wear shorts like that :p
 

CJGFX

Junior Member
I love these little quads they look like a blast to fly. So I'm thinking about building a couple, one for me and a friend. The one thing that's missing from both the videos on the 'Knuckles' is some build specs....
I know your using the Blue Wonder motors, I presume there the 1300Kv size. I can't get the Park 350 where I live, can you suggest another size??? I'd just like to have one to carry a GoPro2 and get a decent length of flight out of it, which brings me on to my last point, what size batteries are you using...

Cheers for all the work you put in to making a brilliant series, website and forum...

CJGFX
 

jackedman

Senior Member
you can try the fc 28-22 1200 kv motor from hobbyking im using them in my q450 quad now and it have power with 8*6 prop
 

Johan

Senior Member
This is funny! Did you photoshop that?... 'cause I don't wear shorts like that :p

That is funny Chad: instead of saying "I've never meditated on the edge of the grand canyon", the first thing you notice are the shorts?
:)

So maybe that IS the way you come up with these ideas, just not in these kind of shorts ... :)
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
Love it! I've been wanting a quad for a long time. Got a Syma X1 to play with last year...but still want a real quad that can lift a camera. But I'm cheap. Real cheap. So cheap I built a FC out of bits I had laying around instead of buying one (ok, that was mainly because the KK2's are never in stock anymore) so I cut my knuckle pieces by hand (with a freaking utility knife!) and built myself an ultra budget quad based on the knuckles.

Testing the hacked together FC (MulitiWii 2.2 based running on an Arduino Mega)
hbmw1.jpg

Initial Frame assembly
20131110_233418.jpg

You may notice I goofed. I used a print out of the center plates to mark my holes...but I got stuck on the "Outer holes" idea and used the holes I marked as the outer holes for the knuckles as well. So I ended up with a really narrow frame. That made it tricky to fit things between the booms and resulted in some design compromises that weren't exactly beneficial. But it flew. After breaking both the front and rear booms though I realized my mistake and widened it out which let me improve the mounting of the wii bits and that made a huge difference.

After running the only 2 charged packs I brought with me today through it without incident:
1471497_10151710583206805_663235935_o.jpg

1471671_10151710583076805_833445652_o.jpg

It's a bit much for me in acro mode still, but will be fun I can tell. In level mode it's super docile and flies like a dream! It was so stable I was tempted to take my hands off the TX to take a photo of it in the air...but it's not quite THAT stable :D I've still got a baro sensor and a magnetic compass sensor here to integrate...and an old GPS I may even try to add in the future. Not the prettiest quad around but I figure I'll bash it around enough there's no much point in making it very pretty :D

I shared my experience building over in the multirotor forum here: http://forum.flitetest.com/showthread.php?6236-Ultra-budget-quad-build

Looking forward to making article about the build as well once I get some decent video of it in action. Now to cross my fingers and hope that Santa brings me an anycopter or batbone kit - really want to do a v-tail or a tri next.
 

kimballgoss

Junior Member
I know this might be a weird question for this thread, but do you have to get specific different ESC's for multirotors than for airplanes? and what kind of ESC's is everybody else using for this H-Quad? I already know I want to use the 24 gram Hextronic motors and the KK2 board, but I don't know what ESC's I need. (sorry for the noob-ish question, this is my first multirotor build.) THANKS!
 

xuzme720

Dedicated foam bender
Mentor
You don't need multirotor specific ESC's, but they can help make your first steps on your journey a bit easier. The firmware on them is designed with a higher refresh rate so they will work better in a multirotor. Beyond that, it really up to what your budget will allow, as long as they are compatible with the motor/prop combo.
 

Craftydan

Hostage Taker of Quads
Staff member
Moderator
Mentor
Hey Kimball,

ESCs with a fixed-wing firmware will work fine for multirotors, but there are things you'll want to do to make it more suitable -- specifically changing the battery option from Lipo to NiCad -- all it does is change the voltage threshold in the Low-Voltage Cutoff to something smaller, and keeps it from kicking in . . . and crashing your quad.

There is a marginal improvement in performance using an ESC with a Multirotor specific ROM, like SimonK or BLHeli, but untill you've picked up the skill to fly the craft well, you won't notice it . . . and then you won't be able to help but notice it.

The blue-wonder motors are rated to 7A, so going with a 10-12A ESC is a good option -- anything more, like a F-20A, will work but at the cost of a little more weight. I would recommend avoiding the multistar ESCs. If you're electrically inclined, consider getting a flashable standard ESCs (like an F-20A) put the airframe together and while you learn to fly, tool up and learn to reflash the ESCs.

BTW, Welcome to the Forum!
 

jhitesma

Some guy in the desert
Mentor
What they all said :)

Plus I'd say reconsider the 24g motors. They'll work, I used them on mine I shared above. But they won't last. They're easy to bend the shaft on and they're easy to break the wires on even if you glue them. The bearings are fairly low quality as well. They're also not 24g in actual weight. Once you add a collet for mounting a prop on a quad they're closer to double that.

For a few dollars more there a number of options that are much better. I went with some Angel motors that I got a deal on off ebay and am VERY happy with. RC Timer has some really nice motors as well and so does suppo. They're $2-$5 a motor more and I know that adds up across 4 motors. But given how fast the 24g motors got worn on my quad I have a hard time recommending them.

Also having used them I agree avoid the multistar. Most stock plane ESC's are better. you can always flash later - and it does make a big difference.
 

kimballgoss

Junior Member
Wow Guys! thank you all so much. So much community here at flitetest. I could never have figured all that out on my own. Thanks to everybody again. The suggestions have been great and I think I know what to do now, I'll go with some different motors and some airplane ESC's. And there's only one more question… I didn't see flitetest recommend any battery for this Quad, and I think it's because its so open ended, but does anybody have any suggestions? I appreciate all the help, thanks!
Kimball,
 
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kimballgoss

Junior Member
Here's some pics of what I'm building. I got a piece of plywood leftover from some power pod firewalls, and I used it as a bottom plate with some barbecue skewers going across as reinforcement. The whole thing is black, and it's going to have green front propellers, like the one in the main photo for the Knuckles Quad. The holes and screws for the cross-booms are off and I might have to re-drill them. I have some laser-cut-aluminum-knuckles coming in tomorrow. Hoping they'll look as cool as I expected. (; Knuckles H-quad.jpg