Hate to add another crack thread

my buddy went to the drone show in the UK a week or so back I asked him to ask about the Phantom arms cracking, this is what he replied.
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Had quite a long chat with a female from Dji. I asked about the business of the end of the arms cracking under the motors.

She reckoned that it isn’t a problem. (But she would say that, I hear you say) but if you spoke to her and listened to her knowledge of it, you’d be convinced she’s right. She was talking about the European repair centre, and how the vast majority of repairs they receive are all pilot error, the quad having hit something. The business of braking hard in the air apparently has no way of exerting enough pressure on the frame to make it crack. They sell 100’s X 1000’s of Phantoms and there is no known issue.

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what say you?
Mine cracked with absolutely zero bumping, jostling, or hard landings of any kind. In fact I hand catch, it has never landed on the ground.
 
image.jpeg
Look at this this is the new improved shell???? I am getting so tired of this problem.this is the 3rd shell.
 
Looks like you the arm reinforcements from infinity hobby, the aluminium ones?
I was planning on getting those but was wondering if they are so strong that they simply transfer the stress to another area?
Loos like your crack is directly above one of the screws. Did you screw it in too hard by any chance?
 
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Looks like you the arm reinforcements from infinity hobby, the aluminium ones?
I was planning on getting those but was wondering if they are so strong that they simply transfer the stress to another area?
Loos like your crack is directly above one of the screws. Did you screw it in too hard by any chance?
Yes I think that might have been the cause.i have loosened the bolts see if that may stop the cracking???
 
I doubt that loosening the bolts will do any good. In fact it may cause extra stress due to motor vibration on a loose mount. I also noticed you are using CF props. I have nearly 100 flights on mine with one crash into a rock wall that dropped the P3P about 20 feet to the ground - and survived without damage other than two props thanks to some grass and sage. No cracks or any other she'll damage. I only used CF props for 4 flights, but stopped because of the jerkiness and lower stability in gusty wind conditions. Much more difficult to soft land with CF props. Not worth the extra risk.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
I doubt that loosening the bolts will do any good. In fact it may cause extra stress due to motor vibration on a loose mount. I also noticed you are using CF props. I have nearly 100 flights on mine with one crash into a rock wall that dropped the P3P about 20 feet to the ground - and survived without damage other than two props thanks to some grass and sage. No cracks or any other she'll damage. I only used CF props for 4 flights, but stopped because of the jerkiness and lower stability in gusty wind conditions. Much more difficult to soft land with CF props. Not worth the extra risk.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
Thanx for the info I use CF props becoz I use a battery mod it's about 450 extra grams of weight Need strong props.extra weight does make it stable in the wind.i always had catch I don't like to land it do to all the dust.the cracks came from doing hard maneuvering and yes over tightened bolts.i only loosened the 2 body bolts.i have used bondic around the inside of motor pods to reinforce the body.and only the top shell cracked so I do have 2 extra top shells from replacing the other first generation of P3 bodies.it was an easy fix.how ever if this problem occours again I may not use the strong arms.but really I may not fly so aggressively what a shame.....
not to fly the way you want.so that means only one other option buy the p4 better built body has better cam and gimbal so tired of tilted horizon and replacing the body.
 
Sorry to say I have had 3 shells crack glue does nothing once cracked it always cracks.i have used crazzzzzzy glue,hot glue,bondic still cracks it's just a band aid!!!
Use plast-aid, I used it on my cracked shell.

I do all big, long, hard flights and no crack spread with this product.

Even reinforced the arms underneath the motors with it.

Magic stuff.
 
Here are the motor and shell pics.

Only 2 weeks old, so put in RMA request to BHPhoto as defective. Will update with result.

You probably would have been better off going straight to DJI. BH is just now the middle man, they provide no additional value. I speak from experience.
 
Sorry to say I have had 3 shells crack glue does nothing once cracked it always cracks.i have used crazzzzzzy glue,hot glue,bondic still cracks it's just a band aid!!!

You have suffered three shells cracking and say that you have no success with any type of glue.
A lot of people have suffered no cracks at all and equally a lot of those have had success repairing with different types of glue.
It looks to me like your problems may be caused by your regime.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
Super glue with baking soda stops it dead in its tracks for me. Been using super glue since the P2 and it works like a charm.
 
Super glue with baking soda stops it dead in its tracks for me. Been using super glue since the P2 and it works like a charm.

Can you elaborate on how you mix the two. I've never heard of using baking soda with glue before.
 
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Mine cracked with absolutely zero bumping, jostling, or hard landings of any kind. In fact I hand catch, it has never landed on the ground.

Yeah ok... Cover theirselves somehow, or at least try to eh?

Why did THREE of my p3 standards brand new out of the box, with balanced props crack on the first 2-4 gentle hover flights?

No crashes, no hard landings or aggressive flights. In fact my first p3s cracked on the 2nd flight (battery had only been charged once and still had 50% charge on second flight). This had the latest shell... Notched motor tabs, x-brace support in between the 4 motor screws... And it still cracked.

The other 2 phantoms were purchased from a different dealer - without the extra x-brace support in between the 4 motor screws, yet again - hairline cracked within 4 gentle flights.

Now, with the phantom I have now, I got fed up and decided to replace the shell my self so I know now - if it does crack again, it's nothing to do with over torqued screws from factory but a clear manufacturing fault with the shells themselves.

All my thread and pics can be found in here for proof.
 
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Sorry to say I have had 3 shells crack glue does nothing once cracked it always cracks.i have used crazzzzzzy glue,hot glue,bondic still cracks it's just a band aid!!!

Yeah, correct. Just replace the shell like I did.

You then know if it cracks again it's not a torque issue from factory, but a clear manufacturing defect with the shells.
 
View attachment 48689 Look at this this is the new improved shell???? I am getting so tired of this problem.this is the 3rd shell.

Never seen one this bad.

All 3 of the phantoms I had suffered hairline cracks, but this looks almost like crash damage to get into that state.

Did you ignore the hairline cracks or something? This just happened like that?
 
Yeah ok... Cover theirselves somehow, or at least try to eh?

Why did THREE of my p3 standards brand new out of the box, with balanced props crack on the first 2-4 gentle hover flights?

No crashes, no hard landings or aggressive flights. In fact my first p3s cracked on the 2nd flight (battery had only been charged once and still had 50% charge on second flight). This had the latest shell... Notched motor tabs, x-brace support in between the 4 motor screws... And it still cracked.

The other 2 phantoms were purchased from a different dealer - without the extra x-brace support in between the 4 motor screws, yet again - hairline cracked within 4 gentle flights.

Now, with the phantom I have now, I got fed up and decided to replace the shell my self so I know now - if it does crack again, it's nothing to do with over torqued screws from factory but a clear manufacturing fault with the shells themselves.

All my thread and pics can be found in here for proof.

Maybe the deffective batch (or batches) were sent to specific places. That could explain why we see the repetition of cracks in some places, even when shells get changed, even if P3s come from different dealers but within that same area (unless of course they´re fixed elsewhere, then that would be hard to explain...). I´ve got a dealer here that had zero crack problems in all the units he sold early in 2015, but 3 or 4 cracked right away in later months - as he got a new batch.

I still hold to the theory that cracking shells are a manufacturing problem, maybe the plastic mix (chemical) or cure (mechanical) or both. I also believe that it could be worsened by low temps, turning the plastic more brittle - maybe DJI didn´t foresee that in design and engineering phases back then, who knows. I admit it´s just a theory, but it´s based on similar cases seen in other industries I work with. And as theories go, it´s just as good as any other I´ve seen flying around too, because we may never know with 100% certainty! :p
 

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