Video slide show is finally done.
I recently did an in depth repair of an Inspire 1 and took plenty of pictures.
Now I will share them.
Enjoy......

hate to say it but you could have saved a ton of time and effort.

by simply removing the VPS and lower airframe then the 3 screws that hold the bearing for the worm gear and just unscrewed the worm gear out the bottom,  then removed the yolk

i mean its still a great video just yeah didnt need to be done in your case

TruGreen Posted at 2017-6-27 22:57
hate to say it but you could have saved a ton of time and effort.

by simply removing the VPS and lower airframe then the 3 screws that hold the bearing for the worm gear and just unscrewed the worm gear out the bottom,  then removed the yolk

Hmmm.... If I knew that then, yes, I could have saved a lot of work.
If there was only an exploded view parts diagram somewhere I could have seen that.

TruGreen Posted at 2017-6-28 06:37
i mean its still a great video just yeah didnt need to be done in your case

Thanks!

Maybe this can save someone else some un-necessary work.

Aeromirage, nice job putting all of that together, I mean the video, no I mean the aircraft, just all of it. That must have taken a few good days to complete! Safety First! Ken.

Thanks!

It took far longer to organize and edit the video than it did to rebuild the bird!!

Nice video and clear photos of the Inspire 1. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure   I remember you looking for the yoke piece after your hard landing (crash)...

I am glad that I never needed to take mine apart and this is nice information  to have on the site.

All the best my friend
Rich
As, I too have the Inspire 2 now and it is much more complex machine, check this video out

RichJ53 Posted at 2017-6-29 17:23
Nice video and clear photos of the Inspire 1. Thank you so much for sharing your adventure   I remember you looking for the yoke piece after your hard landing (crash)...

I am glad that I never needed to take mine apart and this is nice information  to have on the site.

Thanks, for the kind compliments!!

I figured it was worth sharing some rare knowledge of how these birds are put together.

Wow, that I2 is more complicated. Hope I never have to dig into it!!

Aeromirage Posted at 2017-6-29 18:30
Thanks, for the kind compliments!!

I figured it was worth sharing some rare knowledge of how these birds are put together.

Hi Aero

Yah,  hope to never have the need to look under the hood of my I2. I certainly hope to get some miles on this bird. (!)
If the Inspire 1 is any indication of quality,  it should last a very long time with proper care

Rich

Check out this other video I found with a expert repair guy replacing the gimbal parts on the I2

I love it , this is great for reference , You may have taken the long way around ( not sure ) but I am sure you learned a lot in the process making it worthwhile regardless , thanks for sharing .
I bookmarked  this post for sure ,

donnie

Donnie * Posted at 2017-6-30 04:19
I love it , this is great for reference , You may have taken the long way around ( not sure ) but I am sure you learned a lot in the process making it worthwhile regardless , thanks for sharing .
I bookmarked  this post for sure ,

Thanks!
Yes, of course, with 20/20 hindsight, I now realize that I could have replaced that part with a lot less work.
Had I been able to see how it was constructed beforehand, I would have known that!
Maybe this can save someone else some trouble.
Usually, when I contemplate fixing something, I find an exploded parts diagram which shows all the parts and basically how they go together. None seems to be available for this. At least not to us, the general public.

But, I also had some fun in the process!

I was the kid that took apart old wristwatches to see what made them tick!!

Can the servo be removed by these 2 bolts ?

anyone knows ?

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-16 06:38
anyone knows ?

yes but they are very very tight, i snapped an allen bit in one

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-15 23:10
Can the servo be removed by these 2 bolts ?
[view_image]

Yes.
They are pretty glued in with threadlock.
Might want to try some heat on them. Blow drier can help.

Aeromirage Posted at 2018-4-16 13:44
Yes.
They are pretty glued in with threadlock.
Might want to try some heat on them. Blow drier can help.

Ok thanks so it is just those two bolts and the servo will slide off like butter ? Or is there other screws i would need to unscrew as well.

If i mangae to loosen both bolts after snapping an allen driver or two, the question i fear to ask but have no choice is, will i be able to open up the servo case or are those 4 servo bolts glued in as well ??

????....

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-17 00:51
Ok thanks so it is just those two bolts and the servo will slide off like butter ? Or is there other screws i would need to unscrew as well.

If i mangae to loosen both bolts after snapping an allen driver or two, the question i fear to ask but have no choice is, will i be able to open up the servo case or are those 4 servo bolts glued in as well ??

Removing those 2 screws will allow the top frame section to come off with the motor. (Not a servo, it is a brushless motor with reduction gearbox) Worm gear shaft slips into it so that can stay behind.

Still a great video nonetheless.

Removing those 2 screws will allow the top frame section to come off  with the motor. (Not a servo, it is a brushless motor with reduction  gearbox) Worm gear shaft slips into it so that can stay behind.

Thanks thats good to hear.

Now the tricky question, what did those who decided to fix this problem do (the only problem i have is the pinion that is loose on the motor shaft) that's what it seems like i say that because: when i engage the landing gear via my remote the motor would buzz as if the shaft is turning inside the pinion gear, the l/g will not move, However,  when i add a little pressure ie turn the screw on the bottom of the drone with a flat screwdriver while engaging the l/g switch on the remote, the landing gear move smoothly as if i am "assisting" it to turn the worm shaft to move the l/g.

However when powered off or if i do not engage the l/g switch on the remote, it is impossible to turn the screw at the bottom to get the landing gear to move. (so in saying this i hope you guys are in line with what i'm thinking that it is the pinion slipping)

Now if it is the pinion slipping, should i just use a phillips screwdriver to open the motor casing.
Should the screws break or "strip" will the motor box at least open easily ?

I was thinking to try and either heat the box up in an oven, or use a stove element, those spiral ones, by presssing one screw at a time on the stove element and then try and unscrew the screws one by one. (i've tried using a soldering iron before never worked for me)

Ok i got the unit out, the rubber boot looks quite fragile luckily i did not trear it up.

Is it un preventable for the screws snapping when you try to unscrew them ?

Before i ruin the grooves on the screws trying to loosen them, will heat really work ? I'm asking because i have never had success putting a soldering iron tip on a thread locked screw to heat it up and loosen the threadlock's grip.

This whole unit is metal, should i perhaps stick the whole unit into an oven and heat it up to 200 degrees, then try loosening the screws ? Or will it fry the circuitry inside.

Is there someone that has more expertise than i that would be able to loosen this up ?

I was also thinking to try and put the screw heads individually on a spiraled stove element, then try and unlock it with a screwdriver, but something tells me it's a 50% chance of working and a 80% chance of ruining the screw heads.

Will the only option at the end be to grind off the heads ?

What is the best thing to do here ?

Thanks guys.

Ok so will as per the 2 pictures below be the best way to do this ?

The thing is with this, i never know if i'm applying too much or too little heat.

Also the screws are normal phillip star heads.

Thanks Theuns but i have not a heat gun unfortunately for me.

If all this goes south i fear the only option would be somehow to grind the box open or to use a drill bit, hopefully in a way
such that i could perhaps put the it back together when i fixed the inside, by afterwards with superglueing the case or... (really don't want to use pattex steel)
Then if i need to open it again it will Never come loose.

But i see 3 possible outcomes, 1 it works by some miracle, 2 the heads totally strip and i would have to grind a groove into the heads for a flat phillips screwdriver with a dremel i don't have, and by
doing so (cutting the groove) i will weaken the head so setting it up to break off entirely the next time i try to turn it loose.
(perhpas that won't be so bad then i can get it loose perhaps? )

Or 3: the all the blts get stuck inside permanently and the case itself won't come open even after the screw bolts broke off.

Will i then need to grind  "strategic areas" to get the case open but if with any luck hopefully still usable and repairable albeit not putting it back with the screws.

I'm likely going to use the stove element, my soldering iron is a 40 watt one i think so, the idea would be to press the area against the stove element
that needs heat and i can add more heat by just adjusting the stove knob. Maybe put it on 8 till the element glows red and press the casing area as per pictures firmly onto the element for 5 - 10 seconds ? then immediately try unscrewing it ?

And does anyone know what colour loctite is used on these bolts ??

Should be #242 blue.

Nice work, I am sure it will be very useful for a lot of people.

#242 blue got it thanks, Yes Aeroimage will really help a lot of people with this video in future.

My next concern should i be able to remove this casing successfully, how will i re attach the pinion to the motor shaft and if i actually do succeed, how is the LG going to behave once i put it all back together (should i be so lucky to make it that far)

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-19 08:23
#242 blue got it thanks, Yes Aeroimage will really help a lot of people with this video in future.

My next concern should i be able to remove this casing successfully, how will i re attach the pinion to the motor shaft and if i actually do succeed, how is the LG going to behave once i put it all back together (should i be so lucky to make it that far)

I haven't had one of those apart, so uncharted territory.
Good luck!!

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-18 06:08
[view_image]

[view_image]

Take a look at the attachment about repairing the worm screw, Courtesy of RDM Drones  ‐ www.rdmdrones.com. There may be some insight from the pictures. This pdf was once available via their website/blog, but I'm unable to locate the link anymore, so I attached the pdf to this post. (I just tried opening it directly within the post and it failed so you may need to download the pdf to view - sorry)

Inspire1CenterFrameComponent.pdf (1.11 MB, Down times: 101)

2018-4-19 Upload

Click on the file name to download attach

Daroga Posted at 2018-4-19 13:36
Take a look at the attachment about repairing the worm screw, Courtesy of RDM Drones  ‐ www.rdmdrones.com. There may be some insight from the pictures. This pdf was once available via their website/blog, but I'm unable to locate the link anymore, so I attached the pdf to this post. (I just tried opening it directly within the post and it failed so you may need to download the pdf to view - sorry)

Great information for the DIY guys....

Thanks for sharing
Rich

Out of curiosity, I opened up one of these that I had lying around.
All 4 screws broke off, but then I didn't heat them, I didn't care if they broke.

There's a lot going on in there. Several stages of reduction gears.

Thanks all of this will help,  i think my only problem is the pinion slipping, as the worm turns freely with some assistance by the bottom access hole when i assist the lg to turn using a flat screwdriver while engaging the lg switch on my remote, so would you say applying heat at the bottom part of the casing where the screws go it would be my best bet at getting the retainer to loosen up ?

Or did you find traces of retainer on the upper parts of the screws as well, do you think the electronics inside will survive if i press the casing (areas just mentioned) flat onto a glowing hot spiral stove element for say 10 seconds at a time ? (as i don't have a decently enough soldering iron nor a heat gun)

Good info thanks for sharing !!

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-19 22:13
Thanks all of this will help,  i think my only problem is the pinion slipping, as the worm turns freely with some assistance by the bottom access hole when i assist the lg to turn using a flat screwdriver while engaging the lg switch on my remote, so would you say applying heat at the bottom part of the casing where the screws go it would be my best bet at getting the retainer to loosen up ?

Or did you find traces of retainer on the upper parts of the screws as well, do you think the electronics inside will survive if i press the casing (areas just mentioned) flat onto a glowing hot spiral stove element for say 10 seconds at a time ? (as i don't have a decently enough soldering iron nor a heat gun)

Now that I see how the case is made, I don't think you can get the screws out. At least not the one by the wires. I have another one of these. If you want it, PM me, and perhaps we can work something out.

Aeromirage Posted at 2017-6-28 08:47
Hmmm.... If I knew that then, yes, I could have saved a lot of work.
If there was only an exploded view parts diagram somewhere I could have seen that.

I currently have to replace the power distribution board on my inspire 1, Do you have any quick tips on how to easily replace that without taking the whole sucker apart?

Captainbook13 Posted at 2018-4-20 08:04
I currently have to replace the power distribution board on my inspire 1, Do you have any quick tips on how to easily replace that without taking the whole sucker apart?

1) Disconnect all of the connections on the front side of it.
2) With a short #00 phillips screwdriver. Remove the 5 screws that mount it to the front bulkhead of the battery compartment.
3) The power wires going to the arms need to be pulled out of the D shaped rubber grommet they go through and will then come through the bulkhead. (One at a time)
4) Thread wires of new board through bulkhead and mount new board with the 5 #00 phillips screws.
5) Reverse process of step 3
6) Plug in all of the connections.
Done

The only other way is basically a complete breakdown of the body.

Aeromirage Posted at 2018-4-20 05:35
Now that I see how the case is made, I don't think you can get the screws out. At least not the one by the wires. I have another one of these. If you want it, PM me, and perhaps we can work something out.

Thanks Aeroimage, Please can you keep it should my mission turn out to not succeed !

So far this is as far as i got:

The result is a win perhaps lose situation ?? It worked Thank you all so much for helping me however at some stage heating just areas required
was not happening, the casing ended up spreading the heat all over and was so hot at some stage i could not touch the casing !

So Will the motor circuitry inside still be fine ? ( it looks fine, but who knows if it really is ? at least the circuit board is not situated flat against the aluminum casing or such it seem, i guess time will
tell if it has been damaged ? My cable got melted up somewhat so will have to fix that before i test it.

Is it possible to just plug it into any receiver and see if it turns or must it be closed up and installed into the inspire ?


wrt the screws.

The first screw loosened up easily after some heat, the second one not so much and i damaged it quite a bit.

I thought it might be lost and almost quit, but i kept applying heat and eventually got all 4 screws loose.

The culprit found exactly as the person in another youtube showed, the pinion got loose from the shaft.

Now i'm halfway through this.

The question is, has anybody been able to do all this and successfully installed it back onto the inspire where it works perfectly fine ?

What would be the best way to mount that pinion on that shaft properly ? (if the circuit board stil works that is)

..........

Will green thread lock work ?

Jon Stron Posted at 2018-4-22 09:50
Will green thread lock work ?

Hmm.. never seen green.

Use it as long as it is a medium strength and doesn't require heat to remove.