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Thread: Boldly Going Where No Man Has Gone Before. RC Nano-Hydro

  1. #31
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    Excellent progress and work! I really wanted to jump on this but I got way to many other projects to finish, and didn't want it to be a year after it was gifted before I started.

  2. #32
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    Keep going you got our interest stirred up. I like to scracthbuild and I am now thinking of building one from scratch.

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jerryemartin1958 View Post
    Keep going you got our interest stirred up. I like to scracthbuild and I am now thinking of building one from scratch.
    Take a look at my other concurrent thread. I'm going to do a 1/20 scale Atlas Van Lines Blue Blaster from a laser-cut kit I've drawn up in AutoCAD. It won't take all the special machine work that this little beast will; it should be doable with off-the-shelf parts. I'm taking the wood to the laser guy tomorrow to cut the first prototype kit.
    Last edited by Dr. Jet; 01-02-2018 at 10:36 PM. Reason: Revise dates for laser-cutting
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  4. #34
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    I'm at a bit of an impasse on this project. I need to have the motor in hand to do a parts layout and make the driveshaft, but it is literally on a slow boat from China.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  5. #35
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    Default Good News, Bad News

    I have been in contact with Chris Casper, the designer and builder of these hulls. It seems he made this particular hull with three different thicknesses of material. 0.020", 0.030" and 0.040". The 0.030" was popular with the racers as it was lighter, yet rugged enough and provided improved performance over the heavier 0.040" material. My hull is made from the 0.040" sheet. While that means it's only about 5 grams heavier than a lighter version, it is still 5 grams.

    The racing rules for the free-running boats called for no major sanding on the hull. Since this is a "No Rules" project, maybe I can sand a gram or two off and compensate for the slightly heavier hull.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  6. #36
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    Well, the motor has finally arrived. I checked out the motor coupler I made earlier, and due to the run-out in my old lathe chuck, I was not happy with the alignment of the motor shaft and the drive shaft in the coupler. The mis-alignment was only about half a thousandth, but it was there nonetheless. When my new chuck arrives, I'll make a new coupler.

    In the meantime, I'll do a parts location and make a motor mount. On that line, this motor has some REALLY TINY mounting screws. I've ordered screws and will be making an uber-tiny CF motor mount and rear motor support in the near future. Stay tuned and bring your magnifying glasses.....
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  7. #37
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    Default Parts Layout

    Now that I have all the major parts, I can do a layout. I need to be able to access the motor, the coupler, the servo and the receiver for removal and replacement. Furthermore, I need to have it balance somewhere just beyond the aft end of the sponsons and make battery replacement easy.

    Here's what I've come up with. I may solder the servo and ESC leads directly to the receiver tabs and eliminate the bulky plugs. I also plan on soldering the motor leads directly to the ESC board.

    Current weight of everything in the photo plus the rudder, cowl, and motor: 69.5 grams.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  8. #38
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    This is so cool! Great work!

  9. #39
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    I made the servo "tray" tonight.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  10. #40
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    I mounted the receiver with a couple of small pieces of styrene angle (it just slides into place), I've soldered the motor directly to the ESC and added the appropriate battery plug. Wire runs are kept as short as possible for weight concerns. Additionally, the receiver cover, ESC cover, and connector covers have been removed to save weight and space.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  11. #41
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    I thought some flotation might be a good idea....... Just in case. The sponson foam is 0.87 grams. Once the motor is installed, I'll add some in the center section as well.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  12. #42
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    One of the more challenging aspects of this build is the accessibility of the various components. I want to be able to install and remove all of the major components of this boat once the hull halves have been joined. It will take the dexterity of a surgeon, but I can install the Rx, the ESC, the servo, and the motor through the two rather small openings in the deck. The motor will be moved forward about 1/4" from where it is in the photos and the center flotation will be relieved accordingly.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  13. #43
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    Wow! Again great work! I like the penny next to stuff for reference, it is smaller than I thought it was. When Jim started a thread last year about R/Cing one of these I suggested maybe using one of these little Venom boats I purchased as a donor. Not sure that would work anymore (going to post pics), you have done a great job selecting everything that will fit that hull!

    DSCN2678.jpgDSCN2679.jpgDSCN2680.jpg

  14. #44
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    Default A Hundred Times Better Than a Penny

    This really shows off the diminutive size of this little hydro.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  15. #45
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    Awesome work, I really can’t wait to see
    This go. I have been thinking of a micro for some time and now here you and Paul are giving her.
    Shawn

  16. #46
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    Default Motor Mount Installed

    It's TINY!! Eyeglass screws mount it at the "drive" end, and an O-ring rolls over 2 CF rods at the "free" end.
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  17. #47
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    I’ve been waiting several weeks for a new chuck to arrive for my lathe. The old one was incredibly cheap and had centering issues that made the first coupler I made less than ideal. While I had the chuck off, I disassembled the carriage, the cross slide and the compound slide. I polished all the ways and gibs, cleaned and lubricated everything, drilled and tapped the tailstock for additional adjustment screws, and ordered a few upgrade parts while I was at it. I spent a lot of time in the re-assembly adjusting the gibs, centering the tailstock and making sure everything was square or parallel. It’s surprising how much a little “blueprinting” does to improve the performance of the machine.

    The chuck arrived today and I was about to make a new coupler and discovered I was out of aluminum stock. Once I make the coupler, I can locate the stuffing tube and get on with building the wire drive. I call it a “wire” drive, but in this case, I’m going to use 0.8mm carbon fiber rod. With the low power of this system, it should be more than adequate. I chose to use the carbon fiber as there will be less radial load on the brass bushing in the strut. Less radial load = less friction.

    Stay tuned for photos and discussion.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  18. #48
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    I was going to say that carbon will wear really quickly unless in ball races, but as you need to step the size at each end anyway with such small diameters, it should work just fine as long as you step up the shaft to give it a brass bearing surface, rather than stepping down the prop. I like the idea so much I will make some adjustments to suit my requirements, and steal it for my own version.
    Paul Upton-Taylor, Greased Weasel Racing.

  19. #49
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    Quote Originally Posted by NativePaul View Post
    I was going to say that carbon will wear really quickly unless in ball races, but as you need to step the size at each end anyway with such small diameters, it should work just fine as long as you step up the shaft to give it a brass bearing surface, rather than stepping down the prop. I like the idea so much I will make some adjustments to suit my requirements, and steal it for my own version.
    Actually, I am stepping the size UP at each end with 1/16" stainless steel tube. The carbon will not turn against any surface: One piece of SS tube will be captured in the coupler and the other tube will ride in the brass bushing in the strut. The CF rod will connect these two pieces of SS tube.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  20. #50
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    Yeah that is what I meant. I have had a turn around though, I measured the 2x 1mm carbon rods I have in hand and neither are close to round, 1 is .88 x1mm and the other .99x1.12mm so I think they would wreck themselves on the stuffing tube pretty quick, I may be able to sand the bigger one more round in the dremmel at high speed, but I went to the crappy LHS in my new town, and despite England going metric before I was born, they only had the imperial K&S tubing rack not the metric one, and only a fraction of the sizes in that one too, so I cant step the 1mm up to 2mm anyway. I think at this point unfortunately I think I am going to use a 2mm straight shaft with as low an angle as I can get, rather than any sort of flex.

    edit; I just weighed 5" of 2mm piano wire and it is 3.4g, nearly as much as my ESC and servo combined, so that is out of the equasion.
    Last edited by NativePaul; 01-27-2018 at 12:33 PM.
    Paul Upton-Taylor, Greased Weasel Racing.

  21. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by NativePaul View Post
    Yeah that is what I meant. I have had a turn around though, I measured the 2x 1mm carbon rods I have in hand and neither are close to round, 1 is .88 x1mm and the other .99x1.12mm so I think they would wreck themselves on the stuffing tube pretty quick, I may be able to sand the bigger one more round in the dremmel at high speed, but I went to the *!***!***!***!**ty LHS in my new town, and despite England going metric 40 years ago they only had the imperial K&S tubing rack and only a fraction of the sizes in that too, so I cant step the 1mm up to 2mm anyway. I think at this point unfortunately I think I am going to use a 2mm straight shaft with as low an angle as I can get, rather than any sort of flex.
    I am going to have the 1/16 SS tube go through the entire stuffing tube and end 1/2mm BEYOND the bottom of the hull. That's where the CF rod begins (actually, it's Loc-Tited in the SS tube the entire length, but I digress). The CF rod only touches the INSIDE of the 1/16" tube, so it doesn't matter if the CF rod is oval, square, triangular, or whatever.



    EDIT: 2MM?? That's huge!! I'm using 0.8mm (1/32") music wire in the Atlas and the same size CF in this project.
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    Last edited by Dr. Jet; 01-27-2018 at 01:01 PM.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  22. #52
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    Ahh I see, I thought you were just doing that at the strut. Sleeving up the stuffing tube makes sence from a rotational point of view, having a straight stuffing tube means you get very little adjustment at the prop, but anything is better than nothing.

    I know 2mm is huge, I normaly use 2mm for Hydro2's with 50x the power, and 1.2mm for Minis with 4x the power, but without a lathe to make my own stub ends, or tube available locally I may have to resort to it.
    Paul Upton-Taylor, Greased Weasel Racing.

  23. #53
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    Quote Originally Posted by NativePaul View Post
    Ahh I see, I thought you were just doing that at the strut. Sleeving up the stuffing tube makes sence from a rotational point of view, having a straight stuffing tube means you get very little adjustment at the prop, but anything is better than nothing.

    I know 2mm is huge, I normaly use 2mm for Hydro2's with 50x the power, and 1.2mm for Minis with 4x the power, but without a lathe to make my own stub ends, or tube available locally I may have to resort to it.
    Send me a PM. I have a TON of 1/16" SS tube and plenty of 1/32 music wire. I can send you some in a normal envelope. You're on you own for the rest of it, but I think you are a resourceful kind of chap.
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  24. #54
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    Thank you, but I doubt the postal services ability to transport it intercontinental and it remaining usably straight. Heck I doubt the ability to get 300 miles from my old LHS to me without bending it, or I would have phoned my order in to them rather than bothering to try my crappy new LHS.
    Paul Upton-Taylor, Greased Weasel Racing.

  25. #55
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    Default Finally! Some Progress!!

    Well, last night was the Super Blue Blood Moon. Happens once every 87 years or so. My astrological sign is ruled by the moon and today, everything lined up. I finally had everything to make a new coupler, and now it runs true and smooth. Now, I can get on with the business of getting this little thing going again.

    Here's the final version of the coupler:
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  26. #56
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    Default Carbon Fiber Rod Drive Completed

    Here it is: The 0.080" carbon fiber rod drive. Now, I have to figure out a way of affixing the propeller to it.
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    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  27. #57
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    Wow, so cool, and tiny!
    Vac-U-Tug Jr (13mph)

  28. #58
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    Quote Originally Posted by fweasel View Post
    Wow, so cool, and tiny!
    I still don't know if it will work. It could be a lot of effort for naught.......
    A nation of sheep breeds a government of wolves

  29. #59
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    Default Going Boldly.......

    Well, I've mounted the propeller. I made a brass sleeve with a very slight taper such that it takes a LOT of effort to push the prop on all the way. The first half is an easy slip fit, but the last half requires gripping the shaft with some (smooth jaw) pliers to twist the prop all the way home. As a safety measure, I'll put a small piece of fuel line tubing on the stub behind the prop.
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  30. #60
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    Is there an assortment of props available!

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