Folding Hexacopter Frame

Idahobell

Banned
Any suggestion for a folding hexacopter frame in the 400-600 range? Considered the Sky-Hero Spyder 6 but it is heavy and the Spy Y-6 but I hear that Y-6 are inefficient. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
 


Mojave

Member
Any suggestion for a folding hexacopter frame in the 400-600 range? Considered the Sky-Hero Spyder 6 but it is heavy and the Spy Y-6 but I hear that Y-6 are inefficient. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

HexaCrafter: http://www.hexacrafter.com/78-hc-650-650mm-hexacopter-airframe.html

HexaCrafter is a USA company based in Ohio and Andrew Raines will be happy to answer any questions you may have. My 1100L is foldable, check with Andrew to find out about this option on the smallest hexacopter.
 

Carapau

Tek care, lambs ont road, MRF Moderator
Or look at the Gryphon Dynamics range for the Rolls Royce of frames. I have the Gryphon 1000 hexa and they are as good as they look.
 

Idahobell

Banned
I just looked at Gryphon Dynamics website and although I didn't see any pricing I imagine it's more that I am willing to pay for a multicopter. I've decided to just design my own folding hexacopter on Solidworks.
 

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Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
I've been obsessed with the VulcanUAV frames lately. They make some that are foldable - but they're a bit more than your budget (but not as expensive as Gryphon or Droidworx). I like that you can add/remove arms on the same center section to adapt to any configuration you'd like in the future. It's a heavy lifter though - so geared toward motors that can handle it.
 


Hexacrafter

Manufacturer
Fat Corgi,
I am very sorry for the Website access problems. We have recently experiences very large volumes of Cyber attacks to our website and shut off access to several countries while dealing with this problems. We have restored access to most countries including Australia today. Again, very sorry for the problems.

Andrew
 

Old Man

Active Member
+1 for Vulcan. Alex will make to order but the price goes up. Once you have one you can, as mentioned, change things out and make a larger or smaller one. Someone that plans well can purchase a quad frame that has deck plates sized and drilled to fit hex and octo arm positions. Not the cheapest products out there but you get what you pay for.
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
+1 for Vulcan. Alex will make to order but the price goes up. Once you have one you can, as mentioned, change things out and make a larger or smaller one. Someone that plans well can purchase a quad frame that has deck plates sized and drilled to fit hex and octo arm positions. Not the cheapest products out there but you get what you pay for.

Not to get off-topic, but what vulcan rig are you running?
 


Go with the Tarot brand, so much easier to source spare parts vs boutique brands with only a handful of dealers as in the end if you cant get or have to wait or pay more for spares then its not a 'good frame' to begin with
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
Go with the Tarot brand, so much easier to source spare parts vs boutique brands with only a handful of dealers as in the end if you cant get or have to wait or pay more for spares then its not a 'good frame' to begin with

I guess it depends on your definition of a "good frame..."

I have a tarot 680pro hex frame now - and while I think it's decent, it definitely doesn't have the rigidity I'll ultimately want in a frame for great aerial video. No amount of loctite, mods, alternate bolts or available spare parts are going to change that. And that is with balanced props and motors. It's fine for the money ($200USD)- but it's certainly not of the same quality as some of the more expensive frames. And unfortunately, over here in the states we can get only some spares for the tarot. Much of the 680pro replacement parts I've found are from china only.

At at this point, despite being made in the UK, I'd have an easier time (albeit more expensive) getting replacements for Vulcan frames here in the USA.
 

Old Man

Active Member
There are several U.S dealers of Vulcan products, one of which is a sponsor on this site. Just for informational reference, I started conversing with Addictive RC about frames and the requirements I had for my build. We spent a few hours over the course of several phone calls and e-mails, with John presenting various frame and equipment options for me to choose from. Ultimately I chose a Vulcan prototype 1200mm X-folder for a multitude of reasons. Price was not one of them because low prices and high quality are not often synonymous with each other. However, low prices, low quality, poor service, and long delivery times often are. Only one of the Vulcan 1200mm frames had been made to date and it was being used as an experiment in the U.K. for flight testing, so everything had to be made from scratch. The time span from date of order to the date of delivery was less than two weeks. Spare parts are only a phone call away, and that alone is "gold" for the multirotor vendor list. BTW, the frame is quite solid and provides a plethora of options for equipment choices.

I called and e-mailed a lot of dealers with only a few replies when I decided to start a custom build. Most of the "big names" never returned a call or e-mail, with one sending back an e-mail suggesting I contact their sales e-mail account instead of their listed "contact us" address. To date I've only come across five multirotor companies in the U.S. that I know I can depend on. I'll honor them with their names and hope others can add to the list. Addictive RC, 3D Robotics, ATI, Ready Made RC, X-Aircraft. I've had extremely pleasurable business experiences with Heli Video Pros in Canada as well.

Choose wisely. It's not just the money involved with a build that's at stake. Your reputation and/or future business opportunities will be on the line as well.
 
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Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
+1 for addictiveRC. John was incredibly helpful to me via email. The fact that he was so responsive made me confident that my investment in a more expensive frame would be supported. It will definitely be my next build. It may be more than you're looking to spend, but seeking this type of service and support at any price in invaluable. I honestly don't believe that we should all be willing to accept the lack of customer support that seems to be so prevalent in this hobby.

I have found a few more local USA vendors, in addition to the ones you mentioned here. GotheliRC (props etc), flying cinema (h-quad frame) and DPCAV (FPV and AP/V gear) have all been great for me.
 

Dewster

Member
I see a lot of nice frames, but it leads me to the question of flight times. I see a lot of big framed craft only carrying a Gopro. It seems like over kill unless you are using a point and shoot camera. I like the Spy hero 600 hexacopter's look. It's very clean.
 

Motopreserve

Drone Enthusiast
I see a lot of nice frames, but it leads me to the question of flight times. I see a lot of big framed craft only carrying a Gopro. It seems like over kill unless you are using a point and shoot camera. I like the Spy hero 600 hexacopter's look. It's very clean.

Good point - but don't discount the stability you gain with certain frames, and more motors. Rigidity is key for me - so if it costs some additional weight - it's worth it. Within reason of course.
 

Idahobell

Banned
I was flying the Tarot 680Pro with 13" props and a 5000mah battery to just carry a gopro but now I am in the process of completing a Xaircraft Hexa which is a 550 frame. I realized that the Tarot 680 was too large for just carrying the GoPro. View attachment 18792
 

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