Octo Air Frame on the Cheap (cont.)

(left) This is a preview of the battery mount system I'm coming up with. It will strap down the huge 20 amp battery on rails so it can adjust for balance. I may use a plate to keep the battery from wobbling. The frame is tiny in comparison to the battery size. Though all of the electronics (also modeled in color) will have ample room, and all the wiring will sit within the frame itself, keeping clutter to a minimum.
 

 Above is the gimbal I received in the mail today. It's fairly cheap, but the motors seem appropriately sized. I'll have to modify the way the connections are made because I don't trust my screw tightening skills to keep my camera from falling a hundred feet. Maybe drill some holes in the CF and use zip ties to keep everything together. The electronics and battery are on their way, at which point I'll test and calibrate the system.

Teaser photo showing the overall diameter of the octocopter. The CF rods are just long enough that the 12-inch propellers can be swapped out for 15-inch ones, in case I need the extra thrust.

Denim Wallet

I decided to get rid of some old jeans, but didn't want to waste the material. It just so happens my wallet needs replacing, so I figure it might be worth a shot to combine the two thoughts into an idea. 

(photo above) I started making the pattern with paper to closely match the pattern of my current wallet. It all comes apart into pieces I can trace around for cutting. (photo below)

Any areas that needed additional fabric to fold seams was remedied by adding tape or paper. This ensures the pattern contains all the necessary fabric I needed. Then I cut straight up the less pretty side of the jeans to show how I would lay out the pattern and maximize material area, followed by tracing and cutting. 

After cutting, all the folds needed to be ironed so thick seams could be sewn together more easily. Then I chose a nice stitching pattern that I could live with if it skewed slightly or wasn't perfect (see below). These five pieces in three sections represent the inside pockets. The middle one has a clear plastic sheet that will display my license, similar to my old wallet. I harvested the plastic from some old packaging. I did this much last night, and I found out the last step, which is sewing all those pockets to the large sheet of fabric, is too thick for the machine to handle. Lesson learned. Next time I post about this, my needle working skills will be amazing.

Octo Air Frame on the Cheap (cont.)

 Finally got into the maker space (special thanks to SoDo MakerSpace in Seattle) to finish the carbon fiber frame components. Soon I will complete all the rotating joints that attach the arms to the center frame. Once I get my carbon fiber propellers I ordered earlier, I'll feel safe about cutting the tubes for the arms. Enjoy the pics!

Sculpey Pokemon

Octo Air Frame on the Cheap

Utilizing my 3d printer, casting techniques, and my local maker space to create a light weight carbon fiber octocopter air frame that would otherwise cost a lot more. Hopefully, more to come soon!