1001copters.com Aluminum vs Carbon Fiber

koop

New Member
I am brand new to the multirotor heli-craft world and am curious why 1001copters chose aluminum over carbon fiber. Does aluminum have better flight characteristics vs CF?
 

God morning ( evening ? ),

Why choosing aluminium vs CF ?
The CF is very very stiff and it could be a problem when you are hunting vibrations. In CF the vibrations are very well transmitted longitudinaly along of the carbon fiber.
Another problem is in case of crash: if you crash the frame in the direction of the carbon fiber, it wil transmit all the energy along the fiberdu to the stifness. It's rare but when it happens, you will break what is clamped at the end of this part (generaly center plate or electronics).

Final point: the CF is very costy and I don't think I will find lots of people that will want to buy a 800 or 900€ frame (I'm not as famous as Droidworks :D)

I still have to do vibrations tests on my frames bt I'm sure it's pretty good :)
 


DennyR

Active Member
The important thing to understand about Carbon Fiber is that the tows of carbon have to be orientated along the lines of stress. Take for example the suspension of a modern F1 car. It is very strong along the lines where the loads are focussed but very fragile in most other directions. In the case of the 1001 copter frame those cut outs that make for a nice alum. frame would be riddled with stress raisers in anything but multi directional weaves of carbon. The fragile tows of carbon substrate must remain intact and not broken before curing if it is to deliver the strength/weight advantages.

They stopped making race cars from alum. 40 years ago because it is too heavy. As I recall, to save 1 pound through the use of titanium had a cost of 1000 pounds sterling (Back in the 80's).

I do think that maybe some Russian Titanium Tube manufacturers could provide a feasible solution to multirotor frame construction. Often used in aircraft seats
 
Last edited by a moderator:

helimac

Member
Actually for replacing Carbon material as frame , G10 can be a better and more affordable choice , Anyway it is much cheaper and also very strong toughness .
 

gadgetkeith

likes gadgets
why not use both alloy and carbon fbre

as for the arms reduce wall thickness of tube and insert one inside the other with a light thin epoxy type resin

just a thought

same with center plates and flat sheet style landing gear

make your own multi layer laminates

best of both worlds

again just a thought

keith
 

helimac

Member
Perhaps it works , But if all copter / frame made of CF , Cost would be too high for Customer to afford .

Fiberglass based epoxy laminate is tough , i mean tought enough to hold crash .

Maybe many people think CF is much more expensive so is much be able to avoid crash from happening , But in the Market there are many kinds of different CF , Pre-preg sure is the best
 


Eggbeater

Member
Not an expert but there are some reported reasons not to use CF next to bare aluminum...galvanic corrosion and thermal expansion. GC is the reaction that happens when two incompatible materials touch. CF reacts on the Aluminum. Aluminum can be hard anodized to make it more resistant (or not affected) by CF. The key here is moisture and particularly acidic or salty water. In moist environments, it can happen very fast. TE says that unlike materials expand and contract at diff. rates. So likely the CF and AL laminated layers would delaminate creating hollow spots and therefore weaken the overall structure. I dislike CF because it can be crushed so easily, once the mold is broken it is wasted, it is conductive, it blocks RF frequencies, and the toxicity of the dust. I vote for G10-FR4 combined with CF tubes or Aluminum tubes. Maybe a chemist can help us use some lightweight, UV resistant plastics with our hobby. I know Delrin is strong but way heavy.
 

Top