Rear arm shell cracks and active braking

[N017RW]

Again IMO it´s more like "wrong plastic" than anything else. Maybe a mistake in project/engineering, maybe in the mix/injection/curing phase (or all of them)... It´s hard to tell for sure. Call me naive but I for myself doubt they´d deliberately use cheap plastic. It´s just too risky from a business standpoint, and even more so when dealing with advanced aricrafts like the Phantom or drones in general. Yet it´s a fact that this tech is in its infancy (at least for consumers and in such scale), so anything is possible.

But it´s indeed curious that this cracking problem is somewhat "old" and hasn´t yet been definitely fixed. Really weird. Then again what do we know eh...

This is not an infancy or technological problem.

The technology is in the software not the construction materials or components.

The plastics industry is way 'beyond' the materials used in shells of a DJI MR.

It is DJI's choice to use the materials they do and it all comes down to money.

The shells go to the low bidders who use low-grade materials.
Probably regrind a sizable portion of production due to their quantity over quality culture.

 

[AlexSP]

This is not an infancy or technological problem.

The technology is in the software not the construction materials or components.

The plastics industry is way 'beyond' the materials used in shells of a DJI MR.

It is DJI's choice to use the materials they do and it all comes down to money.

The shells go to the low bidders who use low-grade materials.
Probably regrind a sizable portion of production due to their quantity over quality culture.

Right, but as sure as it is DJI is not in the plastic business and I don´t see they cutting corners on many items.

And of course there is a cost-compromise point, not just in drones but in any product: if P3s shells were made out of100% carbon fiber or another advanced composite instead of "cheap plastic" as it´s being said here, it´d certainly cost much more than it does.

I´m all for demanding the best but we need to put things in the context to criticize and be able to see the whole perspective. The P3 has a very sophisticated and advanced performance when it comes to the electronics and flying systems, but it´s still a "consumer" drone. And from what I have tried and seen around one of the best overall performing, and I tried/tested/owned a few. Even superior to ACs costing 2, 3 or more time its price.

Just for the record, we´re speculating here and I´m stating my personal opinion... But if I take this level of engineering and desing and also manufacturing and put agains the final price and performance of the P3s, then I´d say their quality culture is quite good - of course excluding this recurring shell issue (which btw don´t even know much about in general, not even the ocurrence rate despite it coming from previous models).

And not even considering the other DJI products like the Inspire for instance, which also has issues but is a more professional and advanced aircraft altogether. But it also costs two P3s.

 

[N017RW]

I don't know your experience, but LightBridge aside, there's nothing new in the P3 that makes it sophisticated other than the software.

I've used r/c gyros in the 70's that were actual spinning-mass based (Kraft) and MEMS gyros/sensors, LiPos, ESCs, and BLDC motors over 10 years ago.

It's all perspective I guess and ours differ.

 

[AlexSP]

I have a background in RC hobby but I don´t consider that important to this point, and if I take that experience into account then I´ll repeat what I said before here: the P3 is almost miraculous, and not only for the Lightbridge which is indeed quite a feat but maybe not the biggest on the P3.

Yes you can have extremelly sophisticated and advanced systems in RC like the ones you mentioned and more, much more. But - and therein lies the crucial point at least IMO - it´s also extremelly complex. In contrast to the Phantom which is highly capable, reliable and sophisticated yet extremelly simple to deal with.And I don´t mean only the flying part though that is unquestionably the biggest achievement of all, and maybe the reason behind its success (and IMO a potential source of problems too): pretty much anyone without any previous RC experience can unbox it, read the manual while it charges and then take off, fly around and land with infinitely more chances of success than even the simplest RC copter.

I won´t even get into 7 (or more) channel copters, airplanes and other models here, I´m comparing it to the basic and yet the P3 outperforms many sophisticated and complex aircrafts. In other words, to get to the level of experience afforded by this $ 1.5K quad in RC you have to invest a lot, learn a lot and practice an even bigger amount. If that´s good for non-hobbysts I find it even better for me, a hobbyist.

RC is a highly evolved niche, but it´s a niche and for a reason. I have in high regard the incredible level of dedication in all aspects that one needs to really get into and go on in RC. I walked that path myself but the drone and the P3 in special are another thing, another level. I´ve got amost 200 flights and as many hours already with my P3 without a single issue. Without having to replace a motor, or prop or any other part. It´s plug-and-go-play on and on.That´s a whole different experience, one I´ve only previously had with smartphones, home theaters and stuff like that.

I know many are having problems with batteries, FWs and cracking shells and stuff. That´s bad I agree but many (maybe more) aren´t, and that´s good. Such is life. And most are easy fixes, maybe not as easy and immediate as our "everything for now" society demands but sure enough a far cry from the RC experience. I´ve never had a model before - electric or combustion, flying or submerging or speeding or whatever - with even close such trackrecord of reliability and "uninterrupted fun service". I absolutely love to tweak and fix and improve these things but for a long time I´m enjoying hours after hours of simple, charge-and-play.

As a disclaimer, I´m in no way tied to DJI or any other drone company. I´m just stating my user POV, my hobbyst perspective because after yrs of dealing with some really complex and expensive toys I´m now playing with one that´s fun, capable and relatively cheap. And playing lots, in some very sophisticated ways too.

Sorry for the long post and just to get it straight I totally I respect yours and wish you have a good experience with your Phantom too ;-)

 

[alokbhargava]

I think it's time to end this topic of rear arm shell cracks.