DJI needs to get their SH*T Together!!!!

jes1111

Active Member
Loctite anywhere near plastic propellers is definitely a bad idea! Some types of plastic will be more vulnerable than others, but I wouldn't risk experimentation - just say "No!"
 

araines2750

Hexa Crazy
For the Forum.
I "know for a fact" that the DJI props and XAircraft props are NOT the same.
When I recently changed from all Xaircraft electronics to DJI, I was able to put the two props side by side.
The hub on the DJI props is nearly twice as thick at the circumference.
Dispite the fact that they may look similar, you will easily see the difference when side by side.
I almost took a photo of this at the time, but no longer have the Xaircraft props or I would take the photo.
Like most, I have "upgraded" to Graupner.
The upgrade is needed "insurance" when adding expensive additional equipment to the aircraft. Double the weight is double the stress. I do not believe that DJI designed their props for all of the additional loads we are adding to out machines.

Respectfully,
 

Kilby

Active Member
It would be good to have a database of location of where these blades are breaking. what is the air temp.. etc. Reason is that, I am sure the air temp has something to do with it failing sooner then others. I use to work in plastic injection molding.. temp has a lot to do with outcome.

Seems like it is a nice temp, since there are people outside.. strolling around.

Regards,

KS

Why bother? It's a dead horse if you ask me. If there is even a chance of them breaking, and it's very, very well documented, why bother with it? Is it really to save the few bucks difference in another brand? I bet you spend more in parts and time making repairs after a prop failure than you save from buying known ****ty props.

Maybe we should make a sticky post in the DJI forum titled "stay away from DJI props" so no one has an excuse of not knowing better. I've seriously seen this same thread at least a dozen times now, and people don't seem to learn the lesson.

For that matter, we may as well start a thread about not using the stock ESCs, or at least replacing the bullet connectors so folks will stop having their craft flip to the ground and then blame it on the firmware. That's anther one I've seen time and time again with new users piling in everyday none the wiser and making the same mistake.
 

Still pro

Member
I am aware not to over tighten the prop nut. It was in FFF at 30.8 mph but I am sure that wasn't the cause of failure. The rig was not over weight at all. I have seen much bigger landing gear and gimbals with Larger cameras on them. I had a prop break on a 4' hover with my 450. That had no camera on it and a small 2200 mah pack. Where are you guys ordering your Graupners from? In the USA? What size do you recommend for my rig? I will be running both 3s and 4s.
 

Still pro

Member
DJI had a booth at IRCHA last weekend. I specifically asked about the prop issues. Their response focused on over tightening the prop nuts, using loctite, and there being thousands of units flying and a relatively few prop failures. They never mentioned new, improved, re-designed props. I foolishly purchased new DJI 10" props from Heli-Direct after three of those included in my kit failed. "...fool me once..." At least they were cheap. Six cost $12, the price of one Graupner. You get what you pay for, I guess. I now use Graupner 10 inch props. Just curious - do the DJI issues seem to be mostly with the 10 inch props or are the 8 inch versions equally suspect? There seem to be a few folks here having good luck with the 8 inch setup.

If DJI's assertions regarding loctite and over tightening are accurate one would think that the failures would not be depenbdent on prop length.


Jon
I have only had problems with 2 10" props breaking. Never any problems with the 8" and I flew those 8" hard on my 450.
 

kloner

Aerial DP
I think what were seeing here is the craft is made to be flown as is out of the box. then guys hang gopros, bigger packs, etc and it quickly over rates the props carrying ability. usually when something is under rated for it's use, it fails.

props are a consumable product, like brakes, windshield wipers, etc. sand, gravel, heck even cavitation wears them out. any little "touch" should be replaced, not just looked at. When people buy stuff that flies and uses propellers, you need to get extra. while there, get something better like apc, same price. APC has been around since i was a kid, never had one fail i didn't whack the ground with. I wonder how many guys have a slight mishap and whack a prop on the ground, but have a skid mark moment, "at least i didn't break a prop this time" only to loose it mid flight next time out.

I'll never buy anything less than graupners for stuff i want to film from, nothing else works
 

kloner

Aerial DP
graupners in the states can be had from most MR specialty shops online. addictive, gothelirc, etc. v-east is graupner usa, they charge a $5 handling fee and only ship ups, seems like my shipping from there is usually $20+ for a set of prop and adapters.

the deal of the century is here
http://team-blacksheep.com/products/product:122
$15 ship from germany, but if you get a couple pairs, your getting 2 for 1 compared to v-east. think he's out of stock, but he was a couple weeks ago when i ordered and there on the way now
 

tstrike

pendejo grande
I think what were seeing here is the craft is made to be flown as is out of the box. then guys hang gopros, bigger packs, etc and it quickly over rates the props carrying ability. usually when something is under rated for it's use, it fails.

props are a consumable product, like brakes, windshield wipers, etc. sand, gravel, heck even cavitation wears them out. any little "touch" should be replaced, not just looked at. When people buy stuff that flies and uses propellers, you need to get extra. while there, get something better like apc, same price. APC has been around since i was a kid, never had one fail i didn't whack the ground with. I wonder how many guys have a slight mishap and whack a prop on the ground, but have a skid mark moment, "at least i didn't break a prop this time" only to loose it mid flight next time out.

I'll never buy anything less than graupners for stuff i want to film from, nothing else works

That's what I'm saying. In its stock form, the flamewheel's profile isn't much bigger than a frisbee. But these threads about crappy dji props are getting old, more props haven't broke then have. Whoever thinks they'll get away flying 500.00 dollars worth of weight under their 500.00 dollar MC on 2 dollar props is fooling themselves.
 


Still pro

Member
That's what I'm saying. In its stock form, the flamewheel's profile isn't much bigger than a frisbee. But these threads about crappy dji props are getting old, more props haven't broke then have. Whoever thinks they'll get away flying 500.00 dollars worth of weight under their 500.00 dollar MC on 2 dollar props is fooling themselves.

I agree with you Tstrike. I should have upgraded the props. If you don't like these posts then don't respond to them. I respect what your saying but I also had a 450 Lose a prop. That was a stock bird with no extra weight on it. The props were new and had never touched the ground. Explain that. All I am saying is these props ARE junk right from the manufacturers. Your right, They were never made to carry heavy equipment but I have used APC blades that cost the same and they fly better, are balanced almost perfectly out of the package and have NEVER exploded like these POS DJI props.
 

Warlock

Member
View attachment 5879The DJI props and the Xaircraft props are not the same. Here is an example. I just took this picture and on the left is the DJI prop, and the Xaircraft on the right, both are 10". The hub of the DJI prop is beefier and has thicker walls than the Xaircraft one. The height of the hubs is the same. I have had no problems with my DJI props on my F-550, but I have not flown more than 10 batteries thru it. I dont have a camera or anything, but the Traxxas 8.400 mah lipos I run are more than enough to make up for the weight of a camera and mount, the battery is huge and weighs over a pound. Still I dont hard *** it around either. But something is not right here. I asked Robert at DJIUSA about the props, and he told me that he has never once had a DJI prop break in flight. He also told me the original DJI props were replaced with this thicker walled prop. And last, he say's that for many many people out there, they just dont understand how to tighten these properly.

And that those who are constantly breaking props are over tightening them badly, and causing fractures in the hub. Those who have had prop failures because of this, think that they better tighten them up real good next time, and on and on. I get this, but as well there are a lot of guys out there who have been flying a long time, and in fact do have some grasp regarding how to properly tighten these bad boys, and still have had breaks. As mentioned by someone else, a LOT depends on how heavy your loaded and or how hard you push it that way while loaded.
 

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Still pro

Member
View attachment 7797The DJI props and the Xaircraft props are not the same. Here is an example. I just took this picture and on the left is the DJI prop, and the Xaircraft on the right, both are 10". The hub of the DJI prop is beefier and has thicker walls than the Xaircraft one. The height of the hubs is the same. I have had no problems with my DJI props on my F-550, but I have not flown more than 10 batteries thru it. I dont have a camera or anything, but the Traxxas 8.400 mah lipos I run are more than enough to make up for the weight of a camera and mount, the battery is huge and weighs over a pound. Still I dont hard *** it around either. But something is not right here. I asked Robert at DJIUSA about the props, and he told me that he has never once had a DJI prop break in flight. He also told me the original DJI props were replaced with this thicker walled prop. And last, he say's that for many many people out there, they just dont understand how to tighten these properly.

And that those who are constantly breaking props are over tightening them badly, and causing fractures in the hub. Those who have had prop failures because of this, think that they better tighten them up real good next time, and on and on. I get this, but as well there are a lot of guys out there who have been flying a long time, and in fact do have some grasp regarding how to properly tighten these bad boys, and still have had breaks. As mentioned by someone else, a LOT depends on how heavy your loaded and or how hard you push it that way while loaded.

Thanks for the photo comparison Warlock.
 

im thinking of lighting my load as well. i head one snap mid air while wearing my fatsharks. fliped on down to the ground. paid 50.00 for graupers, but had a bad crash on a dry lakebed and broke one. so its back to dji props for now. i just check them after every flight. apc props look beefy, and 3 bucks each.
 


flight_rookie

New Member
For everyone that has had a prop failure, I realized there is a very simple yet effective solution. Simply buy a M6 nylon nut from any hardware store. Then tighten only until the blade does not have any wiggle or play. You are basically looking to carry the torque via the flat spots on the shaft and only having the nut hold the prop on the shaft. The nylon will keep everything secure. I have thrown away my spinners and I haven't had a DJI blade failure since. Good luck.
 



DucktileMedia

Drone Enthusiast
Even if those 2 props are different, I still think they are made in the same factory. Xaircraft beefed up their hubs recently as well. But thats how China works, they have 10 different companies products being made in the same factory. Plus if you go to xaircraft.org the first thing on the site is how to use the wookong. Anyways, it doesnt matter, they are both cheap props that shouldnt be used if you care about your heli. I will say that my DJI props actually were quite flexible and strong. but after the xaircraft experience and hearing others with broken DJI props, I just couldnt use them anymore.
 

ChrisViperM

Active Member
just my 2 cents....Since in my company we deal with suppliers of injecton moulded parts, we know a little bit about it. All propellers are made on injection moulding machines, where the injection tool has to be heated very prcisely to a temperature matching the injected material. Also the granular has to be preheated to a specifc temperature. On a moulding tool you have at least 3 different inlets where the heated granular gets injected...in other words: three different strams of material will meet somwhere in that form to merge to one propeller. If, for any reasons, the parameters are not met (tool or granular not hot enough, tooling opens to soon ect...) you won't get one homogenic strem of material out of that form. With the free eye it looks like one propeller, but in reality its various pieces "glued" together. Almost always, if a propeller snaps in mid air, it's exactly at one of the "meeting points" of the moulding process. That's why this does not happen a lot with Graupner props 'cause they have the hell of a Quality Control, where QC doesn't mean looking at the finished prop if it looks good or not, but to have the production parameters documented and under control.

Chris
 

VINHEX

Member
just my 2 cents....Since in my company we deal with suppliers of injecton moulded parts, we know a little bit about it. All propellers are made on injection moulding machines, where the injection tool has to be heated very prcisely to a temperature matching the injected material. Also the granular has to be preheated to a specifc temperature. On a moulding tool you have at least 3 different inlets where the heated granular gets injected...in other words: three different strams of material will meet somwhere in that form to merge to one propeller. If, for any reasons, the parameters are not met (tool or granular not hot enough, tooling opens to soon ect...) you won't get one homogenic strem of material out of that form. With the free eye it looks like one propeller, but in reality its various pieces "glued" together. Almost always, if a propeller snaps in mid air, it's exactly at one of the "meeting points" of the moulding process. That's why this does not happen a lot with Graupner props 'cause they have the hell of a Quality Control, where QC doesn't mean looking at the finished prop if it looks good or not, but to have the production parameters documented and under control.

Chris

And then it all makes sense.. Well said... Quality control DJI please.. The company i work for deals in electronic components Verifying and testing quality. DJI we would pay a little more if you can guarantee the product.. Why loose face on such a cheap product. Or better still get with Graupner and supply with the kit..... I fly with DJI and worry all the time but all new to me so don't want to break expensive props once I get high these are in the bin!
 

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