MaximusFPV MAKO (3D printed frame)

By MaximusFPV on May 07, 2019

21  527  6

ACTUAL CAD IS KINDA HARD
That's one of several things I learned in the process of creating the MAKO. But before that, I think a brief backstory is in order.
So, for those of you that don't know, for the last nine months, I've been living in Troy, NY and studying Electrical Engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (go Engineers!). If you don't know what RPI is, it's not important. The main thing is almost immediately after moving in last August, I joined the campus makerspace as a volunteer. The Forge is a really friggin cool place. Since I've been there, we've changed rooms and nearly tripled out number of machines, taking us into the territory of an actual makerspace, capable of serving the ~7,000 students who may choose to come to us. Anyway, during that expansion, we purchased a Markforged Onyx Pro, which I highly recommend you check out to get a full picture of because my description will never do it justice. Basically, the main nozzle (of the two) prints in Onyx (a custom blend of chopped carbon and nylon) and the secondary "fiber" nozzle prints, in the case of the Onyx Pro, fiberglass. Yep. Like actual friggin fiberglass. And the next model above this can do kevlar and carbon fiber threads as well as just plain ol' fiberglass. No sweat.
The moment I laid eyes on that gorgeous machine, I knew I was going to have to find an excuse to use it. So, I set about designing a frame that could essentially only be 3D printed, and would do best on this machine. After a few failed attempts, I succeeded, and this build is the result!

THE BUILD
The MAKO is by far the most unique build I've done, but also by far the cleanest, which is great because it was one of my main design foci. Cable management is very important with this build, so pay attention to the PDF on the Thingiverse page! I took this build nice and slow so I could properly document every step (within reason) and make a decent build guide. If you've done this sort of thing before, go for it, but I'd still recommend a quick glance at the pictures in the manual at least because this frame has a few quirks. But that's all I'll say about the build; I didn't write a 15 page PDF about it for nothing!

SINCE IT'S FREE...
...please consider donating the money you saved to Loggerhead Marinelife Center. They do seriously important and amazing work, and since you didn't have to pay for the frame, you might as well chuck a couple bucks to something that matters. The whole reason I named it the MAKO is because the shortfin mako, a species prevalent along Florida's Atlantic coast, is the fastest shark on record. Anyway, enough panhandling. Enjoy the build, or if nothing else, the pictures!

Photos

Discussion

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Jodie Froster   May 10, 2019  

What's the AUW?

Kamsleo69   May 09, 2019  

great job! looks “factory”
when, where can we get one? no acces

fovea   May 08, 2019  

nice! kevlar, glassfiber - awesome! whats the weight of this specific frameprint?
can you describe how a kevlar or glasfiber print could be in a comparison with „3k carbon“?

Dave_C FPV   May 08, 2019 
1

I tried a few of the "regular" carbon fiber reinforced filaments and honestly I woudn't recommend them.
These stiff materials tend to be very brittle and Frames literally shatter into pieces in crashes. Ejecting all the components...
Also they are often a PITA to print. But of course I have tested only a limted number of them so not saying there can't be any good ones.

Rice_Bowl   May 08, 2019  

dude you are an inspiration!!

QU|(K_F0X   May 08, 2019  

Amazing frame!!!!!

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