I have a P3P that has developed several cracks in the shell. I am new to the drone world and have been very paranoid about damaging the unit because of flying too rough, so I have been very careful with it. I check for cracks before and after each flight. I went from having zero noticeable cracks in the shell yesterday, to having several cracks in the shell today after about 35 minutes of flight time. My unit is not under warranty. So, what should I do? Should I try to use an epoxy of some sort to try to repair it? Should I get a replacement shell and try to replace it myself? Or should I send it off for a replacement?
Yet another cracked shell
- Thread starter redlegs
- Start date
Even limited mechanical aptitude (im not making assumptions here, you could build satellites for a living for all I know) a little patience and anyone can replace a shell. They are cheap and easy to source.
If you decide to have a crack and your not an aerospace engineer have a quick look at this
Recognizing & Disconnecting Cable Connectors. Butchering the delicate connectors is where you are most likely to come to grief. They are easy to tackle when you know how.
If you decide to have a crack and your not an aerospace engineer have a quick look at this
Recognizing & Disconnecting Cable Connectors. Butchering the delicate connectors is where you are most likely to come to grief. They are easy to tackle when you know how.
Dang IT....for one epoxy won't work for plastic......Their is a 2 part plastic weld that you can buy at a auto parts store....lightly sand paper the area of the crack and apply the plastic weld to the cracked area..I'm sure more Great Advice will follow ! ...You can buy a new body off Amazon or E_bay....thats a lots of work to do the swap over....So go the plastic weld solution first ! Good Luck and let us know how your doing and send pictures of the before repair and after repairs !
Oh and IF you can lay in a strip of fiberglass after a lite smear of plastic weld the length of the cracks..then dab some plastic weld over it !..that will sure make that area much much stronger
Oh and IF you can lay in a strip of fiberglass after a lite smear of plastic weld the length of the cracks..then dab some plastic weld over it !..that will sure make that area much much stronger
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With..Thats a great link......i got the link saved to my Drone folder....Thank You.
Easiest is to V the crack slightly ... then paint in MEK (Plastiweld) ... this is a plastic solvent that plastic kit modellers use ...
Use a thin tip paint brush to apply.
You could add resin inside taking care not to affect the motor mount stubs ... a better resin is Gorilla Glue - a foaming Polyurethane - but believe me - this stuff foams up a lot - so only a very thin smear where needed and cut away any excess.
You could fit metal plates once repaired to try and delay further cracks. Ebay has plenty ...
Replacement ? Many posts about the second shells cracking as well.
Nigel
Use a thin tip paint brush to apply.
You could add resin inside taking care not to affect the motor mount stubs ... a better resin is Gorilla Glue - a foaming Polyurethane - but believe me - this stuff foams up a lot - so only a very thin smear where needed and cut away any excess.
You could fit metal plates once repaired to try and delay further cracks. Ebay has plenty ...
Replacement ? Many posts about the second shells cracking as well.
Nigel
RodPad
Premium Pilot
@With The Birds
Thanks for the link.
We sell and repair washers, dryers, refers, etc.
The circuit boards on these are getting crazy.
Rod
Thanks for the link.
We sell and repair washers, dryers, refers, etc.
The circuit boards on these are getting crazy.
Rod
Lets Seeeeeeeeeeeee that blue wire goes here the black wire goes here !....What a mess them wires are.....Now days its sure Not a washer repair person Its a Washer Technician....Thanks for the reply and a picture of a laundry machine !
A lot to be said for the days when the electrics in a washer was limited to pump, solenoid or manual timer switch. The insides of the new Bosch washer are like taking the cover off your PC. Luckily they seem pretty reliable- no doubt they are built to a time though, everything will fail at once.
Thanks for the suggestions. I am going to try to repair it for the time being. I doubt I have the patience to replace the shell myself.
I probably should have done this first, but here's a few pics of the cracks. I can't figure out how or why the cracks formed on the top shell.
I probably should have done this first, but here's a few pics of the cracks. I can't figure out how or why the cracks formed on the top shell.
RodPad
Premium Pilot
Hi there.
Iam new here , but must say have learned a lot from this DJI forums.
By my experience better try and send down to DJI, if you havent done that already or tryed something else.
The reason i say that is because they might fix that free of charge.
That what happened to me when i bought a bargain P3P that was pretty much used and developed bad cracks under all motors.
Did contact DJI about the issue and they offered to send in for diagnostic. Where holding off for two month before sending it down there, but at the end that did take less than a week for the whole process till i got it back with a brand new shell and DJI Care offer.
Btw i just received it back this Tuesday and cant wait to fly this weekend.
Iam new here , but must say have learned a lot from this DJI forums.
By my experience better try and send down to DJI, if you havent done that already or tryed something else.
The reason i say that is because they might fix that free of charge.
That what happened to me when i bought a bargain P3P that was pretty much used and developed bad cracks under all motors.
Did contact DJI about the issue and they offered to send in for diagnostic. Where holding off for two month before sending it down there, but at the end that did take less than a week for the whole process till i got it back with a brand new shell and DJI Care offer.
Btw i just received it back this Tuesday and cant wait to fly this weekend.
It never occurred to me to call DJI since It is a little over a year old. Nevertheless, it only has about an hour of flight time. It sat in the box for a year until the past week or so. On the bright side, I flew it for about 20 minutes today and none of the cracks worsened.
RodPad
Premium Pilot
That's not normal .... something going on there ....
Cracks are normally in the bottom shell emanating from motor screw holes. If cracks appear in the actual arms or body - usually that crash or impact damage.
I would be reluctant to try repairs with the cracks as you show ... who knows what else is 'under the skin' waiting to give ?
I think this is a replace shell matter ... IMHO.
Nigel
Looks like someone overnighted the screws. Those are not the cracks we usually see under the motors...
I have no idea. I am very new to this, but I do know that it has never been crashed. I loosened the screws and took the plates off the arms and there were not any cracks on the bottom of the shell
RodPad
Premium Pilot
@redlegs,
Simple search.
Search Results for Query: stress cracks | DJI Phantom Drone Forum
This is the normal picts in the posts / searches.
Cracks
This one is more like yours...
Stress Cracks Poll
BTW..
Welcome to the Forum!
Rod
Simple search.
Search Results for Query: stress cracks | DJI Phantom Drone Forum
This is the normal picts in the posts / searches.
Cracks
This one is more like yours...
Stress Cracks Poll
BTW..
Welcome to the Forum!
Rod
The one i bought is nearly two years old now as checked by the serial number. And still got covered by warranty [emoji102]
Hi guys. Mine cracked at the top of one of the legs...No crashes either! I realised it was the leg I had been using to hand catch the quad. Top of the leg cracked too. It didn't get any worse or affect the aircraft but i swopped it out anyway. Bottom shell only and the affected leg. All went well but a little tricky. I followed the steps off YouTube. Good luck and best wishes.
I have a P3S and a P3P both of which developed cracks as did their replacement shells. The P3P replacement shell's crack is very minor and I plan to repair it (and reinforce the other arms) with plast aid which I have read excellent reviews about.
If you go with replacing the shell I do something to reinforce it before you fly.
It is VERY frustrating that DJI doesn't make a more durable shell. Seems easy enough to do for such an expensive purchase!
I'm wondering if P4's have the same issue?
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