Phantom 3 Crack Repairs

Ouch.This DJI representative's response to our non-issue is rather interesting:
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=redirect&goto=findpost&ptid=23532&pid=167306&fromuid=52180

"I just turned my P3P upside down. I fly this thing all the time and I am not gentle with it. I have the braking set at factory defaults and it is tame compared to my Inspire. I have no cracks at all. I have to smile when I see users that have never flown their P3's and say they have cracks. I looked at their photographs and enlarge them. I will be honest, I don't see any cracks. I have seen some casting imperfections. DJI has stated that they will replace the shells if there are cracks in them. I am not denying that there have been some units with cracks around the screws. We don't know the exact cause and are still investigating. Understand, I can point to many more users that have stated no cracks vs those that are having the issue. I know of no other craft that users take out magnifying glasses to examine them."

Ken (blade strike) and Ed (Tahoe Ed) are great guys. Ken helped me get a new unit. But they both denied this is as big of an issue as you, everyone on the forums, and myself think it is. Denial I guess.

Ed is going to be touring DJI's new LA support facility in a few weeks. I told him to specifically ask to see my unit I sent back and tell me what he thinks. It's clearly a mold or some kind of manufacturing error.

Here is the first video I uploaded to YouTube last week. Read the comments. A lot of people have the same issue.
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Here is a video of my new unit. No stress cracks, but definitely some kind of marks in the mold.
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The problem is, is lot of people are not looking at the bottom of their units or don't know how to look for stress cracks. Share my video with fellow P3 pilots so they too can inspect their P3's. The more people that become educated on this issue, the more pilots re finding stress cracks.
 
Ken (blade strike) and Ed (Tahoe Ed) are great guys. Ken helped me get a new unit. But they both denied this is as big of an issue as you, everyone on the forums, and myself think it is. Denial I guess.

Ed is going to be touring DJI's new LA support facility in a few weeks. I told him to specifically ask to see my unit I sent back and tell me what he thinks. It's clearly a mold or some kind of manufacturing error.

Here is the first video I uploaded to YouTube last week. Read the comments. A lot of people have the same issue.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Here is a video of my new unit. No stress cracks, but definitely some kind of marks in the mold.
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

The problem is, is lot of people are not looking at the bottom of their units or don't know how to look for stress cracks. Share my video with fellow P3 pilots so they too can inspect their P3's. The more people that become educated on this issue, the more pilots re finding stress cracks.

Not doubting that but they are definitely company guys - their comments regarding most problems are always along the lines of "it's not happening to the majority, so it's no biggy". Would love to see their service center stats (if they are being reported properly), as surely some of these issues are taking their toll. Why the 6 to 8 week turn-around for one...what are they inundated with on the repair front - just people crashing in to trees?

And agree, I think there would be a large number more cracks reported, it's just that people aren't likely to be inspecting the underside of their phantoms - I know I wasn't. Until I saw these threads I was just checking the props every couple of flights.

I'm just going to cable tie my back arms for now; I was going to go the epoxy internally route but I might actually need my warranty for something more substantial. Plus it looks like some of the guys are coming up with some good 3d printed designs to 'repair' the issue without popping the case open.

Cheers
 
Almost 8 hours on mine. All is good. I'm inspecting every flight.
 
Awesome job on the repairs. Looks great. How does Bondic do in heat? How easy was it to work with?

So I didn't test the bondic with heat but the first thing I tried was curing a bit on my finger tip. As soon as I got the UV light near the tiny dab of glue it hardened within a half second. Almost blistered my finger, nice second degree burn, Note to Self: don't cure bondic on your skin.
 
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Awesome job on the repairs. Looks great. How does Bondic do in heat? How easy was it to work with?
The Bondic is very easy to work with. It is the consistency of medium CA Glue. The pen makes it very easy to get into the nooks behind the standoff and around every motor mount. It hardens very quickly. The Bondic also can be layered. I also applied it to a test piece of plastic and what I noticed was that when you bent the plastic, the bondic moved with the bent piece. It did not delaminate or separate from the surrounding plastic like CA glue does.

I let the Bondic dry over night and where I placed a few globs on the outside, I was able to sand it with 220 grit. It knocked off the shine of the Bondic and gave it an opaque satin finish that blended really well with the outside of the phantom body. I went ahead and did all four arms. It has enough and then some. If I ever crash and have a repair....enough so Id have to replace the shell. I'll buy refills and pre-treat the new shell. I like this stuff. I've worked with CA glue for other applications and this was easy, whereas CA glue seems to turn white around the edges on plastic. As far as heat, I've had it in my hot garage all day. no signs of change on the external application.
 
I was really looking into and /purchased online but then they refused to ship the p3p. I am now thinking I am so glad they did with all the cracking issues and seeing everyone's posts on these forms .. Also the way a company is handling there customers after someone sinks 1400-2000$+ on these machines !! think Iam gonna bow out of this line for a while and just watch !! Or am I getting the wrong impression here ??
 
I was really looking into and /purchased online but then they refused to ship the p3p. I am now thinking I am so glad they did with all the cracking issues and seeing everyone's posts on these forms .. Also the way a company is handling there customers after someone sinks 1400-2000$+ on these machines !! think Iam gonna bow out of this line for a while and just watch !! Or am I getting the wrong impression here ??

I have had my P3P for close to a month now and fly every day. I loosened the screws and re-torqued the screws. Have not had any cracks yet. If I do get a crack I will most likely ship it in to DJI for replacement. I don't know for sure but I think the number of people without cracks far outnumber those that do have cracks.
 
I have had my P3P for close to a month now and fly every day. I loosened the screws and re-torqued the screws. Have not had any cracks yet. If I do get a crack I will most likely ship it in to DJI for replacement. I don't know for sure but I think the number of people without cracks far outnumber those that do have cracks.


It's def. a sketchy subject .. And something to consider !! Starting to make me backup for a min !! I am a hobbyist .. Nothing professional about it .. And 2g's is a lil bit of pocket change to have issues from the get go. The hobby shop by me I just found has one also priced at $1459.. Otherwise it's back to online shopping and I don't want to recieve one already with cracks ... So I'd like to inspect it at time of purchase . Just def. makes one stop and ponder !
 
Got my phantom out today and noticed I too have the little circular cracks on two of the interior screw molds :(, and there is a chunk missing in the screw hole are just like the youtube pic a few posts above. THIS sucks... I don't feel like bondic will work for the fact that the entire circular plastic post is frail and the pics above showing the large chunks missing above the screw is evidence; its not just the base of the plastic post that's thin, but the whole piece is thin. I'm thinking the idea of sealing the case together and securing the post area is going to be the fix. But as you all know once its sealed up, there's no going back without serious stress being applied to reopen her..
 
Got my phantom out today and noticed I too have the little circular cracks on two of the interior screw molds :(, and there is a chunk missing in the screw hole are just like the youtube pic a few posts above. THIS sucks... I don't feel like bondic will work for the fact that the entire circular plastic post is frail and the pics above showing the large chunks missing above the screw is evidence; its not just the base of the plastic post that's thin, but the whole piece is thin. I'm thinking the idea of sealing the case together and securing the post area is going to be the fix. But as you all know once its sealed up, there's no going back without serious stress being applied to reopen her..

I would send it to DJI have them fix it. You didn't have it before you got it so it is not like you can't live without it, you know you can. If enough people send them back maybe they will come up with a retrofit kit. A handful of screws and 4 plastic pieces would do the trick.
 
Look at the first picture in the first post. That piece was completely broken off. It actually fell out when the shells were separated. If you have a crack, you have a standoff about ready to break completely. Then you only have one stand off left and that will take the force of the two shells where they meet. Once the posts crack and move, the upper shell no longer is doing anything and the bottom shell will flex more. The motor will then start cracking the motor mounts. See where I'm going here. Motor breaks off and then your bird falls to the ground. Hope you don't hit a person. We need to document all this. You never know when the evidence will be needed
 
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Look at the first picture in the first post. That piece was completely broken off. It actually fell out when the shells were separated. If you have a crack, you have a standoff about ready to break completely. Then you only have one stand off left and that will take the force of the two shells where they meet. Once the posts crack and move, the upper shell no longer is doing anything and the bottom shell will flex more. The motor will then start cracking the motor mounts. See where I'm going here. Motor breaks off and then your bird falls to the ground. Hope you don't hit a person. We need to document all this. You never know when the evidence will be needed


exactly why I haven't went out and purchased one !
 
Yeah, I'd wait. People are getting these fresh from the factory and only after a few dozen flights. If you do buy, get one fulfilled by Amazon. 30 day returns


Thx .. But I am not even chancing it !! DJI lost this customer !! I'll find something better to spend my 2g's on !! cause this ain't worth it !! Good luck to everyone that's being screwed by DJI ... I'd send everyone of em back and everyone contact 1 lawyer !! Then I bet they would be a big recall,!! but as I see it right now .. There just taking everyone's money and giving them the run around !! good luck to you all !!
 
Thx .. But I am not even chancing it !! DJI lost this customer !! I'll find something better to spend my 2g's on !! cause this ain't worth it !! Good luck to everyone that's being screwed by DJI ... I'd send everyone of em back and everyone contact 1 lawyer !! Then I bet they would be a big recall,!! but as I see it right now .. There just taking everyone's money and giving them the run around !! good luck to you all !!
Now that's a little drastic. 50 cents for 8 tie wraps will probably fix 95% of these issues and you will be on your way. :)
 
If you accept below par products breaking before you even recieve them for 15-2000$ then that's your business ! But me myself .. I won't spend that kind of money on broken and known manufacture defects !! Just keep handing em your money for broken drones !! But I rather have something that is par !! Fully operational when I purchase it without worrying it's gonna break from them cutting Coners !!
 
Thx .. But I am not even chancing it !! DJI lost this customer !! I'll find something better to spend my 2g's on !! cause this ain't worth it !! Good luck to everyone that's being screwed by DJI ... I'd send everyone of em back and everyone contact 1 lawyer !! Then I bet they would be a big recall,!! but as I see it right now .. There just taking everyone's money and giving them the run around !! good luck to you all !!

Sorry and good luck..

I will add that with over a 100,000 unit this is only happening to a very SMALL fraction of units. I know this doesn't help the fact if you're on of those users. But you have to looks at the big picture. This is caused by over torque of the drivers at the factory. They have been in the process of calibrating these drivers so this doesn't happen again.

You have to remember that people are also using this excuse after using thread lock and or installing prop guards and over tightening screws. As someone in this thread stated it's about 20 people right now, with over 100,000 units in the air, it truly is such a small number.
 
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If you accept below par products breaking before you even recieve them for 15-2000$ then that's your business ! But me myself .. I won't spend that kind of money on broken and known manufacture defects !! Just keep handing em your money for broken drones !! But I rather have something that is par !! Fully operational when I purchase it without worrying it's gonna break from them cutting Coners !!

If this happens you return the unit, nothing more, nothing less..If it has been flown then you do have to send it in. Plus I don't know where you're buying your p3 but retail is $1259 for the pro.
 
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