I'm a new pilot and newbie member, and my Solo has barely survived its ordeal of her idiot pilot suffering his inaugural crash. She has several body cracks, and knowing the type of plastic She is made from is key to knowing what kind of adhesive to use. Anyone know what kind of plastic ( chemically/technically ) the outer shell is made of? It seems that the inner battery tub maybe made of a different type of plastic . I have looked at other threads on repairing the shell, but no one has really answered this question. Thanks!
Type of plastic shell is made of?
- Thread starter CommandantWireman
- Start date
Haven't had mine apart yet so I can't tell for sure but, there might be markings (recycle codes etc) in the inside surfaces of the shell.
I'm curious as well. I had an unfortunate incident last evening that involved sport mode, 40 mph and my roof. I initially thought Solo flew away, but after reviewing the logs it appears Solo was responding but did not maintain altitude. I have a few cracks on the shell right at the top front, near where the gps compartment battery tray screws are. I was very fortunate.
- Joined
- Dec 29, 2016
- Messages
- 1,167
- Reaction score
- 389
Sorry for the mishaps maybe this can help, This guy repairs a crashed solo and explains how he repaired it in detail.
Very informative..
Very informative..
The only thing I can find within the shell is 3-00228 >PC< which is adjacent to the molding date stamp. Which would imply Polycarbonate.
fwiw, the frame, battery tray, battery and gimbal plate are integral components for the overall structure. Poorly fitted or damaged components could induce unwanted results for a stable flight.
Good luck on your repairs.
fwiw, the frame, battery tray, battery and gimbal plate are integral components for the overall structure. Poorly fitted or damaged components could induce unwanted results for a stable flight.
Good luck on your repairs.
I am not sure if anyone has used it or not but Gorilla Epoxy works really well with plastic cracks. Then I would cover that with Gorilla clear fix tape. The tape itself is sort of like the bug guards they put on new vehicles hoods and flexible so you can form it. It is tough stuff and it sticks like 3M VHB tape. A blow dryer or heat gun after its on makes it almost impossible to remove.
I do vinyl on our trucks and have thought about using vehicle wrap to protect the plastic. It shrinks to form a tight layer and will take the shape of the arms and body really well while adding some protection. Go by a sign/wrap place and ask them how they think it would work. I'm sure they would give you a scrap to test with.
Just some thoughts if I were doing mine.
I ended up using some abs cement and a toothpick as an applicator to weld the pieces back together. It would appear that Methyl Chloride is the product that works best for the joining of polycarbonate plastics. I'm going to let it cure for 24 hours and then I'll watch it for a while and reply back with the results. Thanks RichWest and XevetS for the info.
I also forgot to say when you put the epoxy glue or whatever you use on the crack cut a piece of a used dryer sheet and use it as a patch. It works like fiberglass matt when mixed with the epoxy or glue. It works like a band aid to hold the crack together and add stability.
Problem is, that it is in a small area not easily accessible to perform a interior patch. Sounds like a good idea, though I wonder about the tensile strength of an epoxy impregnated dryer sheet.
One thing I did not do is stop drill the cracks. I have placed a mark at the end of the cracks so I can watch them to see if they start growing.
If you could still catch one for $299, I'd buy a new one, and keep the cracked one for parts.
Almost just where my cracks are. Not a real surprise, it is the front, after all.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Already did that
- I think this is completely reparable, though I may buy some more props since 3 of them shattered like the dreams of a ballerina with a clubfoot. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yah, I saw that too, but as you say it's only an implication without knowing the coding. "PC" is also common for "Printed Circuit". I got quite lucky; the damage is pretty minor and none of the cracks completely bisect parts. I'm gonna try simple glue patches with a plastic weld epoxy first, and can get fancy from there if there are issues. Thanks for the advice.
There's a very small "non-recyclable" symbol on the bottom label with the CE and FCC marks. Haven't had her completely apart yet, but what I have exposed has no marks.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Yep The material type is usually enclosed in > < symbols. So Polycarbonate a good bet.
The shell is not only for the look, it provides structural support. A supper glued arm may fail in mid flight.
If you can't find a replacement shell, you are better off moving all the components to a 350 or 450 frame. By doing so, you end up with a quad with much stronger frame and more enjoyable flying experience.
If you can't find a replacement shell, you are better off moving all the components to a 350 or 450 frame. By doing so, you end up with a quad with much stronger frame and more enjoyable flying experience.
I feel your pain. I did close to the same thing but in my case the rear left leg broke right off. I used 30 minute slow cure epoxy on mine. I wanted the pieces to be held together tightly as the glue cured so I cut small strips of spare house vinyl siding that I had laying around and essentially used it as butterfly bandages bridging the break in a couple of places. I then very carefully drilled holes in the Solo Shell on opposite sides of the break (this was after it was fully dis-assembled of course) and then glued the break, glued the vinyl strips onto Solo from the inside then bolted the strips into place. The strips held the leg tightly together while the glue cured and added structural strength as well. Only the heads of the bolts show from the outside. It seems to have worked fine and I have flown this Solo ever since without any noticeable affect. I had wondered if the tiny bolts might affect the compass but it doesn't seem to have bothered. I have a total of 4 butterfly strips and 8 bolts keeping it securely together. Even if the epoxy glue was to let go, the plastic vinyl strips and bolts would certainly keep everything in place and together.
Attachments
New Posts
-
-
Free Music / SFX Resource for Your Videos - Over 2000 Tracks- Latest: Eric Matyas
-
-
-
Members online
No members online now.