| Concept:
The concept behind the MultiFrame Series
is one of strength, simplicity and flexibility of design. To achieve
this we have focussed on the primary functions of any multirotor
airframe - to hold the motors in the desired confirguration, to be
lightweight yet stiff and avoid the transmission of vibration, to
provide a solid base on which to install your electronics and payload,
good space for your power systems to be fitted and remain cool, to be
simple to assemble and maintain, to be strong enough to offer
considerable resistance to damage in the event of an accident, and
should damage be sustained, to be simple to repair at a very reasonable
cost. To achieve this we have used a combination of sound design and
quality materials aimed at avoiding the common problems experienced by
many other frame designs, as well as offering simple assembly,
durability and a flexibility of configuration not seen anywhere...
Flexibility:
One of the first things considered during the design of the MultiFrame,
was that there was no good reason for the user to be stuck with one
particular frame layout, chosen at the point of purchase and before they
have had a chance to try that configuration and decide if it is
suitable for their needs. So for ultimate flexibility, the MultiFrame
uses the same few parts in all frame configurations, allowing the user
to change their frame at any time, simply by moving, adding or removing
arms as they wish - and without losing the orientation of the frame
centre section, battery tray and standoff plates, thus avoiding a
lengthy complete reinstall of all onboard systems.
Configurations of the MultiFrame include Y6, + Quad, X Quad, X8, I Hexa, V Hexa, I Octo and V Octo.
Landing legs can be easily fitted to any arm, and moved anywhere
on that arm, not only to accomodate the different frame layouts, but
also to provide the best balance between stability on landing, balance
in the air and a clear camera view.
Battery tray and standoff plates are interchangeable, and you can
stack as many standoff plates as you like to hold all flight
electronics, sensors, cameras, receivers, transmitters, datalinks, GPS,
OSDs and other onboard equipment, providing some distance and
shielding between them, so helping to minimise RF and magnetic
interference. Motor mounts can be fitted to the top or bottom of the arm, or fitted in pairs to allow two motors per arm to be used.
The arms are drilled at 30mm intervals to allow flexible mounting
of the landing legs, and a variety of other equipment such as video
transmitters, mini cameras, LED strips and camera mounts. With the
motor and frame centre mount holes also at 30mm spacing, the arms can
also be easily cut in 30mm sections to allow the user to change the
rotor diameter of the frame to their own preferrence.
Power System Installation:
One of the biggest issues
with most frames is that not enough consideration has been given to the
installation of the main power systems. The space is too small, or badly
laid out leaving you with a rats nest of wires and ESCs crammed
together in a very small space. There will always be limited space in
these machines, so installation will always be tight, but having all
your main power systems forced into a small space can lead to very high
temperatures during operation - and high temperatures and sensitive
electronics are never a good combination, and can lead to premature
failure! The MultiFrame allows for a simple
installation, excellent cooling for your ESCs and access to them and
their connections without taking the frame apart. The plate spacing is
such that most ESCs will fit between the frame plates on their sides, so
can be attached to the side of each arm with foam tape. This allows
very good airflow around the ESCs, and the ability to simply pull them
out and get access to their connections should you need to. Very useful
when setting motor rotation direction!
There is room for most common power distribtuion boards to be
mounted at the centre fo the frame, although mounting holes for these
are not pre drilled as the exact mounting hole spacing varies from board
to board.
Construction:
As with most high end muticopter frames, the MultiFrame
uses highest quality Carbon Fibre as the main construction material for
it's well known strength and light weight, and we have carefully chosen
our material weave and thickness to provide the stiffness, rigidity and
durability needed for a heavy lift machine.
Unusually we decided to use aluminium alloy for the construction
of the arms. Carbon Fibre is very strong in certain directions, and when
it comes to any kind of hollow tube, it has great longitudinal
strength, but is very easy to crush. To mount a
Carbon Fibre arm, an internal brace, sleeve or spacer must be used, or a
friction mount that presses evenly around the entire outside of the
tube. Although it is possible to crush the aluminium alloy arm section,
it has much greater strength in this direction making straight through
bolt mounting possible. The MultiFrame
arm section is custom moulded from quality aluminium alloy with a
wall thickness not normally available in this type and size of moulding,
allowing it to provide the required strength with light weight, as well
as minimise vibration transmission.
The square section not only allows easy mounting of arms,
plates, motor mounts etc, but avoids problems common to arms that do not
have a good flat surface, such a rotational vibration, the twisting of
arms in their mountings, or twisting of motor mounts on the arm. Even a
small loss of orientation in the arm can cause all sorts of problems
during flight!
The landing legs are made from light weight aluminium strip, very
strong in a downward and outward direction. They are however designed to
give in a heavy sideways landing situation, reducing the possibility of
damage to the arm. With a double bolt at the rear and a single bolt at
the front of the leg, in the event of heavy sideways stress, they are
able to twist at the front and bend round on themselves. This means that
should you have a bad landing resulting in leg damage, the arms should
remain straight, and the leg can be simply bent back to it's original
position. Whilst your landing leg may not be perfect after this, you
should still be able to continue to fly, not ending your day due to one
small error!
Accessories:
Plastic
dome covers are available for the frame hub and can be fitted on both
top and bottom (subject to equipment installed). They are RF transparent
so will not interfere with your receivers, transmitters or GPS and are
made of flexible plastic that is almost unbreakable. They are supplied
with Velcro dots and straps for quick and easy fitting and removal, and
come in a choice of four colours, red, blue, yellow and white.
Camera mount adapters to fit PhotoHigher AV130 and AV200 camera
mounts are available for the V Hexa and V Octo frame configurations.
These hold the camera slightly forward of the centre of the frame,
minimmising the chance of rotors appearing in the camera view, and the
offset weight can easily be balanced with battery and landing leg
positioning. |
