I"m in the process of rebuilding my 3 axis gimbal after my crash and have a couple questions. I was reviewing the tutorial video's and saw a couple things that alter from my setup. I notice the have 4 small aluminum spacers they used between the pulley and the plate. But I never used it originally. Is this something I should have used? Or is this from the original batch of plates and pulleys that you don't need to use the spacers anymore. Without the spacers I have enough room for the plate to clear the servo pulley when it rotates but I was wondering if I should use the spacers. I just can't figure out where the spacers go because the fasteners I have to bolt to the plate to the pulley won't be long enough if I use the spacers for the 4 outside mounting points. Also the new star plate that I bought has 4 pressed in inserts but I can't figure out what they are used for. They aren't for the 8 bolts to fasten the plate to the pulley and they aren't used to mount the plate to the vibration dampners. Must be something I am overlooking?
I had the same problem, I called Quadrocopter and they said they were no longer needed (the spacers) So I assembled the copter without. It seemed fine to start with but after a few days the star plate started to sag with the weight of the booms, making the frame hit the servo when it turned on a pan axis. So I took it apart and installed the spacers. I have them on the middle 4 screws of the center hub, the outer 4 screws have none. I tried to buy 4 extra spacers from Quadrocopter but they declined to sell them to me unless I purchased the $200+ gimbal repair kit. I have tried to buy them elsewhere but I have had no luck. I am not 100% sure if I have it assembled correctly but it works (at least for now).
Nick you really shouldn't need the spacers. Probably what your seeing is your servo pulley isn't quite square and as a result the outside bolts on the star plate are hitting it. It needs to be just about perfect for it not to hit. Also I would be very careful about how you have it setup because you are putting a lot of stress on the outside of the plate because the outside bolts don't have the spacers. If you really want to space it out you can buy 3mm stand offs and spacers from McMaster Carr in different lengths. I really don't think you need them. IF anything you can just purchase 3mm washers and space the plate out a little further. But I think its important to have the servo pulley lined up the best you can can which insure for a smooth pan.
Yup Dave that makes sense, I wasn't 100% happy with the setup, hence the reason for trying to purchase spacers for the other 4 attachment bolts. I will take them out. I had the pan pulley belt come off for the very reason you mentioned. I adjusted the servo back to square after I had added the washers. So it probably would not hit now. I will give it a try Thanks Dave
OK, switched it back to stock, re-aligned the Pan axis servo and everything is tickityboo...... done! Thanks again
PS. Checked out the 'McMaster Carr' website, what a great resource. Just bookmarked them. I am sure I will be using them in the future.
Nick, do you have the McMaster Carr URL or part number to hand for the 3mm spacers just in case someone else reads this thread in the future and wants to order the spacers? Could you post the details, please? Andy.
This is the link to the site http://www.mcmaster.com/#unthreaded-spacers/=nb0pq3 Although I did not find the exact 3mm spacers as I did not need them in the end, there is every spacer/connector/part an 'Octo geek' like myself could ever wish for this is the home page: http://www.mcmaster.com