I Can't Believe it! MY "New & Improved" shell has a crack after 7 flights!

Balancing DJI props is like praying to cure disease.
It makes you feel good but there is no science or engineering which says it works one iota. It's the fallback to explain any problems - especially those unrelated to it!

As another member said, this is simply quality control on the shell and/or a small design problem perhaps related to DJI engineers underestimating both stress and the amount of hours people would be flying these things (P3 works in heavier winds, longer distances, etc. so is flown more.

Mine was probably one of the first off the production line and is fine. I would never balance the props - I do change them every so often. Video is perfectly stable and unit is sound.

If burning sage over your P3 and chanting blessings makes you feel good, do it. However, trying to make others take unproven steps to "fix" a problem seems fruitless and wasteful.
 
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I have a question, I seen a guy on YouTube reinforce his with hot glue. I haven't tried it out, I know it will void your warranty but if that doesn't bother you is it worth trying? what are your guy's thoughts on this? Will it help prevent cracks? Or a waste of time? Keep in mind this would be after balancing the props and doing every other preventive measure.
 
Balancing DJI props is like praying to cure disease.
It makes you feel good but there is no science or engineering which says it works one iota.

i'm no aero engineer or anything, but it seems to me that an unbalanced prop would give you a similar result as an unbalanced wheel on your car. especially if its badly out of balanced.

how do you come to the conclusion that balanced props does nothing for vibration control?
 
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We need to start collecting some data and putting it on paper. If your arm cracks take a moment to record the facts did you have prop guards, how tight would you say the screws are, where your props balanced and if not were they out of balance and so on. Doing this will help put together all the pieces of a puzzle and we can see if there as a common thing that is causing this
 
1. I would add the Strong Arm reinforcement plates under the motors before I took the shell apart. Then there would be no warranty issue and it really appears they might help and certainly wouldn't hurt.
2. Prop balancing may not always be necessary, but it's always good to verify. You want to eliminate vibration where you can.
 
Balancing props in theory makes perfect sense however original props should be fairly accurate anyway - they are mass produced and of a small diameter so the difference will be very minor.
You may find more variation in the actual motors themselves. Hence a post I once made about finding a way to balance a prop ON the aircraft.
 
Balancing DJI props is like praying to cure disease.
It makes you feel good but there is no science or engineering which says it works one iota. It's the fallback to explain any problems - especially those unrelated to it!

As another member said, this is simply quality control on the shell and/or a small design problem perhaps related to DJI engineers underestimating both stress and the amount of hours people would be flying these things (P3 works in heavier winds, longer distances, etc. so is flown more.

Mine was probably one of the first off the production line and is fine. I would never balance the props - I do change them every so often. Video is perfectly stable and unit is sound.

If burning sage over your P3 and chanting blessings makes you feel good, do it. However, trying to make others take unproven steps to "fix" a problem seems fruitless and wasteful.


So you saying you can't afford a Dubro?

lol

I do have a Dubro for many balancing acts. Of the 12 DJI props I have, 1 is seriously out of balance and 2 were perfectly balanced. DJI makes pretty well balanced props though.
 
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Balancing DJI props is like praying to cure disease.
It makes you feel good but there is no science or engineering which says it works one iota. It's the fallback to explain any problems - especially those unrelated to it!

As another member said, this is simply quality control on the shell and/or a small design problem perhaps related to DJI engineers underestimating both stress and the amount of hours people would be flying these things (P3 works in heavier winds, longer distances, etc. so is flown more.

Mine was probably one of the first off the production line and is fine. I would never balance the props - I do change them every so often. Video is perfectly stable and unit is sound.

If burning sage over your P3 and chanting blessings makes you feel good, do it. However, trying to make others take unproven steps to "fix" a problem seems fruitless and wasteful.
Havent tried that burning sage yet:D:D
 
Balancing props in theory makes perfect sense however original props should be fairly accurate anyway - they are mass produced and of a small diameter so the difference will be very minor.
You may find more variation in the actual motors themselves. Hence a post I once made about finding a way to balance a prop ON the aircraft.
Wouldn't that be great--like a tiny spin balancer used for cars.
 
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How do you shave off weight on the DJI Props?
I fly a Phantom 1 and have had it nearly 3 years. I switched from the original props to Carbon Fiber 9/4 props and been flying them ever since. I have a Top Flite Magnetic prop balancer and out of the four props, only one was slightly out of balance. I used a piece of Scotch tape and just stuck it about midway on the lighter blade. I moved the tape one way or the other until the prop was perfectly balanced and then wrapped the tape starting on the trailing edge of the blade and forward and over to the under side and pressed it firmly onto the blade. It has never given me any problems with vibration and I think the 9" blades fly better than the original 8" blades.
 
Hello Tim--you must be DjiTim from the Dji Forum. I am very glad to see you are monitoring this forum as well. It's good that Dji is really interested in what customers are finding and saying about their products. I for one think Dji is doing a great job of listening and solving people's problems, while continuing to enhance the functionality of the P3 products.
There are a few other Tims out there and that one isn't Tim from DJI.
Anyone from DJI would indicate it in their user name but unfortunately they don't drop in here very often.
 
Wouldn't that be great--like a tiny spin balancer used for cars.

Actually guys have been dynamically balancing the motor/prop combos for years using a laser pointer.

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That is the sort of thing I was on about - I was thinking more a strobe but same difference!

And talking of Dubro prop balancers I am sure that is the same make I had when I was a lad many moons ago balancing props for my OS30 on my MFA Yamamoto!
 
i'm no aero engineer or anything, but it seems to me that an unbalanced prop would give you a similar result as an unbalanced wheel on your car. especially if its badly out of balanced.

how do you come to the conclusion that balanced props does nothing for vibration control?

Dozens of sets on 3 different Phantom models over 18 months - never a one that wasn't perfect (in terms of video quality). Also spent 18 months attempting to balance props on toy and other quads.....without gimbals.

In those cases it may have some relevance. Point is that the P3 is a highly tuned and integrated system and if it's not taking smooth video or if the shell is cracking it's not because of the props (in 99.9% of cases - IMHO).

In this industry "did you balance your props?" seems to be the answer to every problem...when, in fact, I don't think it is.
 
That is the sort of thing I was on about - I was thinking more a strobe but same difference!

And talking of Dubro prop balancers I am sure that is the same make I had when I was a lad many moons ago balancing props for my OS30 on my MFA Yamamoto!
I'm sure it's the same today. Pretty simple and effective.
Re: the dynamic balancer--a strobe for sure with something like an accelerometer (or whatever they use to record directional movement) stuck under the motor and paired with the the strobe. You would see where to put the tape as well relative to an index mark. Someone else can tell us how the magic works.
 

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