Phantom 3 Crack Repairs

I see he removed the post full of cursing and raging lunacy. Of course now our posts won't make sense.


Sent from my iPhone 6+ using Tapatalk Pro
 
Quote the lunacy next time.
 
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It was taking down by administrator , thank you !! Have a good day flying a broken drone with no service provided !!
 
That dude was a vicious troll. I couldn't even understand what he was talking about.

Zip Ties - if you are going this route, people should probably just be conscious of loosening the screw before they take the zip ties off of the Phantom. If you put the zip tie on there and then after that re torque the screw so it is looser just remember to loosen the screw again BEFORE you take the zip tie off or at least before you fly it. The zip tie is definitely squeezing the two halves together so when the zip tie is taken off it could cause the screw to be very tight again all of the sudden.

My first unit developed cracks but I was able to return it to the hobby store. I have zip ties on the new unit now and I loosened the screws just a bit to try to prevent it from happening again. I guess if it does have to be sent in, I really just want to know that the new shell put on doesn't suffer from the same manufacturing defect. If mine cracks again I would be ok with sending it in if I knew the replacement shell would not have the same issue.
 
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It was taking down by administrator , thank you !! Have a good day flying a broken drone with no service provided !!


Doesn't even make sense.. A) not every ones 'drone' is broken. B) if you send it in they'll fix it.

o_O
 
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.

20 people? That's nonsense - it's going to be a much bigger problem for DJI once people start noticing the defect. From DJI's own forums http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=23532
there is a poll with 44 people out of 166 having the issue. In the absence of any other data, that should be a concern. You claim 100,000 others are flying their Phantoms happily without cracks - I say the vast majority haven't even checked for issues.

And I doubt it's torque for the majority of these cracks - the plastic is just way too thin in the areas cracking and simply can't handle the load.

Interesting to know that a shell replacement from DJI will likely not fix the real issue in the long term. 6-8 weeks for an identical shell replacement with a re-torque. Nice.
 
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20 people? That's nonsense - it's going to be a much bigger problem for DJI once people start noticing the defect. From DJI's own forums http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=23532
there is a poll with 44 people out of 166 having the issue. In the absence of any other data, that should be a concern. You claim 100,000 others are flying their Phantoms happily without cracks - I say the vast majority haven't even checked for issues.

And I doubt it's torque for the majority of these cracks - the plastic is just way too thin in the areas cracking and simply can't handle the load.

Interesting to know that a shell replacement from DJI will likely not fix the real issue in the long term. 6-8 weeks for an identical shell replacement with a re-torque. Nice.

20 Verified, like I posted people are jumping on the bandwagon trying to get shells replaced that is clearly user error. Have you seen what thread lock will do? Have you seen how much torque people think they need to apply when using prop guards?!

I have two units, one with 150+ flights and another with 60+ . I have no issues on both of them. You can believe it or not, I'm not here to prove anything.
 
DJI is probably going to release a P4 around Christmas time which will include the HDMI option, some new features and a modified shell. Everyone will then jump on the new model and the P3 will take it's place in storage right next to the P2's P1's and FC40's, never to fly again :) Cracks or no cracks, the P3 will serve us well even if it requires a little dab of glue or a tie wrap or two. But all will be forgotten as we move on to the next great wonder.
 
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20 Verified, like I posted people are jumping on the bandwagon trying to get shells replaced that is clearly user error. Have you seen what thread lock will do? Have you seen how much torque people think they need to apply when using prop guards?!

I have two units, one with 150+ flights and another with 60+ . I have no issues on both of them. You can believe it or not, I'm not here to prove anything.
If your part of the company maybe you should be proving yourself !! Instead of name calling and denile !!

Every consumer has the right to know if your having issues with your products and what or when you think this issue will be resolved !! Instead you attack people for asking question and then tell em ! Since you don't own one I have nothing else to say !!

Sounds like a company that's passing the buck !! Also by the time you get it back from service the warrenty is expired !!
 
My first unit developed cracks but I was able to return it to the hobby store. I have zip ties on the new unit now and I loosened the screws just a bit to try to prevent it from happening again. I guess if it does have to be sent in, I really just want to know that the new shell put on doesn't suffer from the same manufacturing defect. If mine cracks again I would be ok with sending it in if I knew the replacement shell would not have the same issue.

Exactly my concern. I have cracks in the two rear inside stand-offs - don't see the point in sending it back for a 2 month turn-around for it just to be replaced with a case that has the same design flaw. I'll just cable tie the 2 arms myself and hope the issue doesn't get worse.
 
If your part of the company maybe you should be proving yourself !! Instead of name calling and denile !!

Every consumer has the right to know if your having issues with your products and what or when you think this issue will be resolved !! Instead you attack people for asking question and then tell em ! Since you don't own one I have nothing else to say !!

Sounds like a company that's passing the buck !! Also by the time you get it back from service the warrenty is expired !!

Skipper your not worth my time or effort. Name calling? No sorry fact calling.. I thought your previous post was your last?
 
Exactly my concern. I have cracks in the two rear inside stand-offs - don't see the point in sending it back for a 2 month turn-around for it just to be replaced with a case that has the same design flaw. I'll just cable tie the 2 arms myself and hope the issue doesn't get worse.

You obviously don't understand what over tightening screws can do to the shell. Go ahead and use zip ties, if you think that's a better option than fixing the issue.

I have probably more flight on my craft than most users. If it was a design issue they would all be having the issue.

You have options to get it repaired. If those options are not satisfactory then don't knock anyone else for your choices.
 
You obviously don't understand what over tightening screws can do to the shell. Go ahead and use zip ties, if you think that's a better option than fixing the issue.

Man it's not really rocket science - it's pretty obvious what over tightened screws can do. And my screws were not over-torqued in the first place.
You seem to be applying your prop guard annoyance to all the cracks that are developing.
 
Man it's not really rocket science - it's pretty obvious what over tightened screws can do. And my screws were not over-torqued in the first place.
You seem to be applying your prop guard annoyance to all the cracks that are developing.

Nope not at all please show where I stated that?
 
Nope not at all please show where I stated that?
Please note where I said 'seem'. You brought up thread lock and prop guards for these stress guard issues in an earlier post, and you've stated that these issues are related to over-torqued screws.

Have you seen one of the 20 verified units? Did your service department say it was because of over-torquing...is that the official DJI stance?
 
Please note where I said 'seem'. You brought up thread lock and prop guards for these stress guard issues in an earlier post, and you've stated that these issues are related to over-torqued screws.

Have you seen one of the 20 verified units? Did your service department say it was because of over-torquing...is that the official DJI stance?

I brought up the user error issues to show examples of how some people want DJI to fix their own mistakes.

No I haven't but I will see some of these units next Tuesday when I visit the new service center. Correct, this is what I have been told be the service manager.
 
In the grand scheme of things I believe DJI has provided reasonable measures for this issue to be taken care of, if one CHOOSES to do so.

I know...waiting...customer service-lacking big time...

But you do have a choices:

#1
Return quad to DJI regardless of shell not being under warranty and be ready to pay cost when done or whatever...

Or

#2
Mod it yourself, fly the hell at of it. And live with your decision...

It as simple as that...

For me... At this point, I made a choice to mod the hair line cracks before they became holes. How I did it...doesn't matter...

I made the choice...

If in 50 or more flights the shell is compromised. Im sure by then shells will be sold on most websites....

And if not...

I'll send it in to DJI NA and be willing to pay the bill or perhaps have it done at a LHS

My bird is running solid, I'm done with worrying about the cosmetic issues.

If all is sound internally then the issue IMO is over...

Make a choice...live with it and move on!
 
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It is a weak design. Torque probably caused the issue from the factory on those who had cracks on delivery. Others may see that they developed over time, like mine. It would probably be wise to retorque them to be safe and use the zip ties to reinforce the area. After making repairs on mine, it's very solid. The arms have very little to no torque on them now. I had lots of torque from the factory and I think movement over time caused my issues. I only hand catch. I see it's happening on the rear arms. If torque from the factory is the issue, then why not all the arms? Aren't most of you seeing the rear arms cracking?

I went ahead and zip tied mine with opaque white zip ties I have out in the shop. I figured why not, more support the better. I think after my fix, it stronger than factory now and will probably last me the life of the drone. When shells become available, I'll put one back for just in case.

So I made the choice on mine. I repaired it. But I won't forget when it comes to buy future products. I thought I wouldn't be an early adopter. And you would think on a third generation, these issues would be moot, but here we are.
 
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