Mount Servos/Aura temporarily without damaging foam?

[lienmeat]

I'm considering adding a bit of fiberglass where components that I wish to swap glue in, so I can keep weight down, but have a more rugged surface to glue to than foam. Are there better/easier ways?

Currently, I attach servos directly to foamboard with hot glue, but removing them later usually results in damaged foam. I attach my aura with 3m double sided tape, but removing it usually tears the paper off the foam, and if you move it between planes enough, ruins the foam too, eventually. I think a layer of good packing tape where the aura mounts is likely enough to prevent damage of repeated removal, but haven't tried it yet.

 

[Monte.C]

I'm considering adding a bit of fiberglass where components that I wish to swap glue in, so I can keep weight down, but have a more rugged surface to glue to than foam. Are there better/easier ways?

Currently, I attach servos directly to foamboard with hot glue, but removing them later usually results in damaged foam. I attach my aura with 3m double sided tape, but removing it usually tears the paper off the foam, and if you move it between planes enough, ruins the foam too, eventually. I think a layer of good packing tape where the aura mounts is likely enough to prevent damage of repeated removal, but haven't tried it yet.

Servos - So far I keep buying more. But I scrap planes too, so I get back the servos in the process.

I'm in that spot with a flight stabilizer same as you. Getting ready to use one for the first time. You and I thought of the same thing, packing tape. Us geniuses gotta stick together! Let's see how it works.

But others here are smarter than we are. Let's wait and see what they say.

 

[dap35]

I'm considering adding a bit of fiberglass where components that I wish to swap glue in, so I can keep weight down, but have a more rugged surface to glue to than foam. Are there better/easier ways?

Currently, I attach servos directly to foamboard with hot glue, but removing them later usually results in damaged foam. I attach my aura with 3m double sided tape, but removing it usually tears the paper off the foam, and if you move it between planes enough, ruins the foam too, eventually. I think a layer of good packing tape where the aura mounts is likely enough to prevent damage of repeated removal, but haven't tried it yet.

There is a mount available for the Aura :==> https://www.flexinnovations.com/product/ft-aura-5-lite-3d-printed-mount/
You can either buy it or download the STL file and print it. If you don't have a 3d printer or a friend with one, try your local library as they may have a STEM lab with a printer. That's how I got mine.

 

[JasonK]

for the aura -> I agree that 3D printed mount seems like the ideal solution, you need it stable compared to the plane, so most types of easy to remove mounting options aren't a great idea.

if you want to keep taping it down, your idea of putting down a more durable surface is a good idea.

 

[lienmeat]

There is a mount available for the Aura :==> https://www.flexinnovations.com/product/ft-aura-5-lite-3d-printed-mount/
You can either buy it or download the STL file and print it. If you don't have a 3d printer or a friend with one, try your local library as they may have a STEM lab with a printer. That's how I got mine.

Yeah, I'll probably print a mount soon, but I still think attaching the mount to the plane permanently is less than ideal if there is the option to have it be attached temporarily, if possible.

 

[lienmeat]

Servos - So far I keep buying more. But I scrap planes too, so I get back the servos in the process.

Yeah, same, and I have enough between planes now that I'd love to stop buying them, and just swap them when I want to fly something else (I crash a lot. I'm (still) a terrible pilot, so cutting costs and making it possible to build a few planes to fly and swapping electronics would be best until I have more time between repairs.)

 

[Bricks]

For mounting servos you can use thin hobby plywood cut a square bigger then your servo then cut the inside to fit the servo and screw in the servos, that is how it is done on bigger planes.

 

[lienmeat]

For mounting servos you can use thin hobby plywood cut a square bigger then your servo then cut the inside to fit the servo and screw in the servos, that is how it is done on bigger planes.

Nice. I do have a fair amount of 1/16" ply. I'll give that a try.

 

[Monte.C]

Nobody's mentioned alcohol. I've been told a drop of alcohol works on the adhesive to help remove the tape. One more good reason to use packing tape underneath. I sure don't want to slop alcohol all over inside the fuse. The procedure seems cumbersome at best, but if you can get in there and be delicate in the removal this might help. I'm thinking if I could get just a tiny drop in there on the edge of the mounting tape, then I'd use maybe a toothpick to try to work it a little bit under the tape. I suppose. Might work. We'll see.

But using packing tape might be all we need. I think there's two kinds of mounting tape - a foam kind and a sort of gel kind. I'm suspecting with the gel kind, being gentle and slow it might come up off the glossy-smooth packing tape with some slow steady pressure.

 

[CappyAmeric]

Consider that you never want a gyro board to come loose in flight. Use the Aura mounting board from Flex Innovations or print your own.

My experience is at when it comes to the 3M sticky pad that comes with the Aura, I won’t use it again on a model that I plan to do any aerobatics with. I almost destroyed my FT Freedom Fox when the Aura came loose at the top of a loop, and I couldn’t get to the mode switch quite fast enough to switch the Aura gyro off. The Aura had come loose and was floating around in the fuselage.

 

[Bricks]

Consider thou never want a gyro board to come loose in flight. Use the Aura mounting board from Flex Innovations or print your own.

My experience is at when it comes to the 3M sticky pad that comes with the Aura, I won’t use it again on a model that I plan to do any aerobatics with. I almost destroyed my FT Freedom Fox when the Aura came loose at the top of a loop, and I couldn’t get to the mode switch quite fast enough to switch the Aura gyro off. The Aura had come loose and was floating around in the fuselage.

That had to be fun