The PH145 quadcopter was inspired by the RS90 and DJ105 brushless quadcopters. The RS90 looked like fun, but the DJ105 wasn't much bigger and produces a lot more thrust. The DJ105 uses 2.5 inch propellers, and I quickly learned that these are rare. 3 inch propellers are available everywhere, and there's a much bigger selection of motors if you build a little bigger than the DJ105.

• My 3D Printed Quadcopter - The PH145 Drone at patshead.com

Like the RS90 and DJ105, my PH145 drone frame is printed using Taulman 910 nylon filament. It is sturdy stuff. I crash all the time.

Version 2.0 of the PH145 frame is the third model I have printed and flown. The prop guards on the prototype model were too thin, and I had an OpenSCAD error at each corner that created a weak point. For version 1.0, I increased the thickness of the prop guards by 50% and corrected the OpenSCAD error. I also added some small zip tie slots on the inside edges of the prop guards.

I was hoping I could get away with the zip tie slots, but they ended up being a weak point, and I finally broke the frame when I crashed into a brick wall.

Version 2.0 removes these zip tie slots, and it moves the holes for the nylon standoffs farther away from the props. It also adds zip tie slots to the bottom frame in an attempt to allow for "zip tie landing gear."

The Version 2.0 frame comes in at 58 grams--8 grams lighter than Version 1.0--when printed with 2 top layers, 2 bottom layers, 4 perimeters, and 20% hexagonal infill with a 0.4mm nozzle. This is my lightest frame to date, and I expect it to be the sturdiest!

My all-up-weight is currently 340 grams with an 850mAh 4S LiPo, and FPV camera and transmitter, and using aluminum screws. The PH145 feels fast and agile with this small battery, and it can usually fly for about 6 minutes.

I'm running tri-blade RotorX RX3040T props, EMAX RS1306 4000Kv motors, a Naze32, and some sort of 4-in-1 (supposedly) 4x30A ESC. I have a Crazepony 700TVL camera and transmitter mounted on the drone. Without a battery, the PH145 weighs in at 245 grams.

• PH145 FPV at Oak Point Park

I'm still learning how to fly in FPV. I'm not very good at it yet!

Parts List:

• 28 M3 screws 8mm Steel Screws or 8mm Aluminum Screws
• M3 25mm Nylon Standoffs
• LittleBee 30Ax4 4-in-1 ESC
• Naze32
• DYS BX1306 4000Kv motors or EMAX RS1306 4000KV
• Male XT60 battery connector
• RotorX RX3040T Props
• Taulman 910 filament 1lb

I'm also running this FPV camera and transmitter:

• Eachine 700TVL FPV Camera and Transmitter
• Eachine EV800 FPV Goggles

These are other batteries I've tried so far:

• Venom 50C 850 mAh - 5+ minutes
• GARTT 1500mAh 4S - 9.5 minutes
• CrazePony Graphene 1300mAh 4S - 8+ minutes
• Floureon 2200mAh 3S - 9+ minutes
• 1300mAh 3S - 5 to 6 minutes (not the brand I used)

A 1300mAh 3S feels like a great way to get used to the quadcopter. I was flying on a well worn 1300mAh that used to belong to a friend. The quadcopter started to feel a bit weaker as I approached the 5 minute mark, but it was more than usable at 6 minutes of air time. You can run 3S batteries if you already have them, but I highly recommend the 850mAh 4S. I have 5 of them, and they're excellent!

MakerFarm Prusa i3 8

No

No

0.16mm

20%

The top and bottom frames are printed with Taulman 910 filament. I printed the brackets for the circuit boards and camera mount with ABS.

I'm using 2 solid layers on the top and bottom, 4 perimeters, and a "solid infill threshold area" of 70. This makes all the prop guards solid, including the protrusions at the edges where the standoffs are connected. The 20% infill only impacts the center of the frame, and 20% is probably overkill there.