Sep 8, 2014 | By Alec

Any readers who are looking a challenging new 3D printing project should definitely check out this cool folding micro FPV (first-person view) H-Quadcopter made by the guys over at Hovership. The Quadcopter is a very cool radio-controlled helicopter with four propeller blades (hence the quad in its name) that you can construct in your very own home for a fraction of the costs of similar models sold in stores.

Steve, the main man behind Hovership.com, started his website as a blog for enthusiasts, where he could post videos of his flights and share his designs and results. Since then, it has developed into a business that designs, manufactures and sells parts and accessories for various radio-controlled helicopters. They aim at DIY enthusiasts looking for low-cost but very cool designs, and they offer various guides to help you build your very own 'copter' such as tricopters, quadcopters, hexacopters and octocopters.

Check out these cool flying machines in action:


Interestingly, Hovership has uses 3D printing to cut costs and offer affordable options for all 'copter' enthusiasts out there. They even keep their DIY mentality strong by freely sharing their design on Thingiverse, while selling printed parts in their webshop for anyone who doesn't have a printer at home. Steve explains how 3D printing has transformed the way he constructs helicopter:

"About 2 months ago I got a 3D printer, the MakerGear M2. Before that I was spending a lot of money to have Shapeways print all my little parts. It has been amazing to have my own (reliable) printer that I can draw up designs and immediately start making them into physical parts. Even better, I can keep refining designs at very little cost."

It has allowed him to develop a standard design for the frame of a lightweight quadcopter with foldable wings, to which you can then add all the motors and accessories you want. Its design will allow you to add options for compact storage & transportation, integrated vibration dampening, and a number of mounting options for a Mobius, GoPro camera or other electronics. These other parts will still have to be bought rather than printed, and can be found in most hobby stores and in the Hovership webstore.


Nonetheless, this design will allow you to save some money, as a regular FPV quad frame will set you back about $100 or more, while printing your own in ABS will only cost you about $4 in filament. Other materials could be used, but Steve acknowledges that 'I have only printed these parts with ABS which have held up well in crashes. PLA might not hold up as well but these parts are all cheap to print replacements for.' You can find the free 3D design here at Thingiverse. Alternatively, Hovership will print it for you and ship it to you for $40 through their webshop. You can then work on constructing this awesome quadcopter in your own home, using their free guides.

While not quite yet offering you a freely printable helicopter that can actually fly, the guys behind Hovership are nonetheless illustrating how 3D printing can be used to produce cheaper options for this creative hobby. Check it out!


 

Posted in 3D Printing Applications

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bhupendra wrote at 7/21/2015 8:52:37 AM:

Hello friends. It is a nice article.This is a good article for the beginners who want to work on any projects. If you really excited for the project you can buy quadcopter kits from robomart. It is a most popular online store for purchasing robotic products. you can also make a quadcopter by reading it's description given on the website.For more detail visit onhttps://robomart.com/buy-quadcopter-kit-online-india

Anuj wrote at 5/23/2015 8:47:40 PM:

I wanna make a copter .........what are the basic requirement for making a copter in lo price......

Schorhr wrote at 9/9/2014 7:25:11 PM:

I've made one and published it on thingiverse that uses an inexpensive 10-20$ KK Board, 4 micro brushless motors and speed controllers (each of those components 8usd), and a 5usd keychain cam, but of course it is not as cool as this :-)

Bri wrote at 9/9/2014 1:04:44 AM:

The part cost, non-frame, seems pretty high on this thing.



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