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Update 13/07/2017
Dear TankCopter lovers
According to the last update, we have modified the design ( propeller’s motors inside the arms). Prototype was build and tested.
We have ran comparative testing. Model worked very fine for 20 flights, after that we have found only one issue.
The crown (face gears) have worn off, only some of them, to be precise 2 of them have girded off and disengage from the spur gear sitting on the motor’s shaft. After investigating the problem we have found the housing needs to have better stiffens in order to keep the gears mesh properly, small deviation will cause problem. Also bigger gear module will help. We have modified the construction accordingly.
The good news, is that we have already moulded the Radio Transmitter, VR googles. Those are working with no issues, also look and feel quite nice.
Also the smartphone app is in its finest stage.
Below the corrected version of the last model. On the 15th we will get final feedback from factory that is already working on prototype. We will know precisely how much funds we still need in order to start mass production, and the timescale of delivery. At the moment we are sure, that we will not be able to deliver by the end of the month 🙁 BIG APOLOGIES for that, but we have to take this last step in order to make this product great, not only the function, but endurance, quality, crash resistance, agility etc.
As you can see on the pictures we also upgraded the propellers to 3 bladed. New propellers produce bigger thrust compared to the 2 bladed ones, also at hover they use less power, that is a score towards better endurance. In the box we probably include two sets, 2 and 3 bladed propellers. We will also implement the teeth on the 2 high pulleys for better ground performance ( thank you Valentin for the idea)
Please share, comment share your thoughts
9 Comments
It’s been a month. Have you made a decision about sending 2 and 3 bladed props? As for your “eye catching” news: sending a “no major changes from last update” would be preferable to silence. I think waiting two years for this product shows that I have patience. The long wait between updates is very frustrating.
I have already spoken about adding extra 2 bladed propellers to the model, I have not got the final confirmation yet. So far, I found out, it will also, (apart from changing the propeller) require changing one of the internal gears ( this is easy, just 3 screws ). Now I am waiting for the confirmation about the extra tooling cost as this is the most difficult factor.
sooooo what happened to weekly updates???
You are right, there was no update for a bit of time. Apologies for that. We will prepare one for tomorrow.
To be honest there was no “eye catching” news to share, last month we spend on negotiations with the factory and preparing the contracts.
3-Blades might be better in terms of endurance etc. BUT they will raise the chance to be cought in some green or what ever catches one of the 8 ends of the 3-blades exposed!
We designed 3 set of propellers from scratch, in order to get highest possible efficiency and thrust at limited space (3.65 inch). The 2 blades are also good but the 3 bladed give extra 2 min of flight time ( it is about 30 % more compared to 2 bladed). Regarding the blades being exposed, well they are mounted on rotatable central axis so if they hit the obstacle on the way, they will simply rotate ( the same applies ot 2 bladed, as they are not automatically aligned with tracks). They are mounted high from the ground, that reduces significantly the chances of colliding with obstacles. To be honest we are considering selling the X-TankCopter with 2 sets of propellers, 2 and 3 bladed, “endurance” and “sport”. I will confirm this information in next update. Thank you for your feedback
Thanks for the update!
I am glad someone used my information from the Engaget program to keep me informed. I am still considering the purchase of this product for my grandson and he has been stoked for about a year now. I haven’t been able to tell him why there are delays, but rest assured, I understand the delays. Design and improvements have come a long way and in the right direction. Thank You.
Thank you for the understanding. The delay is for two reasons, first one is a very low R&D budget, the second is the engineering difficulty of the project. I have designed 4 prototypes so far. The task is not easy, the X-TankCopter needs to be very efficient and powerful, as it has to carry extra motors, tracks, arms ( driving gear) and it needs to have good climbing rate, be agile as ordinary quadcopter. So each part was designed and simulated precisely, especially the structure ( as it needs to withstand “droop test” forces), power transition and the propeller, batteries, motors, and PCB board, all components had to be custom designed in order to fit in our specification. I can happy claim the X-TankCopter at the current stage, has all the performance of ordinary quadcopter ( at this size) plus its driving function!. We are very close to production stage: the prototype I have at hand is tested and ready, currently awaiting for the feedback from the factory ( probably at the end of the week ). If they feedback is positive then we will move to tooling phase.