DIY Tricopter Frame

I've just finished making my Tricopter frame plates using David design and thought I'd share how I did them. Unfortunatly I don't have access to a CNC cutter to get the parts cut and I'm not paying the delivery costs from the US, so I decided to make some of my own in my little workshop. 

The first step is to print out the PDF of Davids frame and glue it to a piece of 5mm MDF or hard board. This allows you to cut out the shape easily, you can use a jigsaw or a scroll saw.

 I used PVA glue to put the paper onto the board, but photo spray mount would be good to. Wait for the glue to dry and cut out the shape just a millimeter or so from the line.

Once you've roughly cut the shape out you can then use a file, a half round is good and a small rat file to get in the corners. File down to the lines, this gived you a more accurate finish than trying to do it with a saw. You can also no drill out the holes that you'll need to fix the booms on.

You could use this template for the final pieces, but I find that they wear down. I like to transfer this using a router onto 18mm MDF, this gives you a good strong template to use in the future if you need to replace the frame or make another tricopter. Simply use some double sided tape to hold the 5mm template to the 18mm MDF and then route around the 5mm template.

  Using the 18mm template mark around it onto your fibreglass sheeting and roughly trim to shape with a jigsaw. I've used a white correcter pen as it can be washed off after. Then use the double sided tape to glue the 18mm MDF to the fibreglass sheet and then you can route around the template.

By using the router instead of a saw the finished edges are nice and crisp, just a little sanding to take off the sharp edges.

Now you can take the 5mm template and use this for drilling the holes, use a nice sharp drill and it makes the job a good one. All ready to start assembling the tricopter.

This is a good little method that can be used for other parts, I'll draw up some landing legs and do the same. Yes it does take a little time, but now I have the template I can route out plates in under an hour.