Hi All,


We've just had a customer bring back an X5 for inspection after an emergency landing from approximately 70 centimetres up.
He had to throttle down quickly as nesting birds were about to attack the drone.


Anyway as result of the landing he inspected the gimbal and noticed the components on the yaw axis motor weren't parallel.


Now keep in mind that this wasn't a crash, it was an emergency landing, still operating under power.


I disassembled the yaw axis motor assembly to determine the cause of the misalignment - suspected bent motor shaft initially...


I was astonished to discover the ridiculously small amount of material used to support the entire assembly below the yaw axis motor attachment point to the bayonet assembly plate.


The pictures tell the whole story, but here's the measured numbers for reference.




The weight of the X3 camera is 215 Grams
The weight of the X5 camera is 532 Grams
The weight increase from the X3 to the X5 is 317 Grams or 247% heavier.


The plate which forms the upper part of the motor shaft assembly on the X3 camera is 1.4mm thick - this is cast magnesium, not renowned for it's strength, but used appropriately it should be fit for purpose.


Astonishingly the thickness of the material on the X5 camera gimbal yaw axis motor is 1.1mm


That's a reduction of 30% in actual material thickness - that is supposed to carry an increased load of 247%.
You don't need to be an engineer or qualified in material science to know that the arithmetic just doesn't compute.


Now if the owner hadn't noticed the misalignment, which was very slight indeed, and kept flying this unit, there's every chance that the entire gimbal below the yaw axis plate could have detached in flight.


That's a 500 Gram rock coming down from altitude.


My take on the design of this component of the gimbal makes this unit completely unfit for purpose.


Such a serious design flaw should never have been put into production, in fact it should not have made it past the first prototype.


From DJI's own site: http://www.dji.com/product/zenmuse-x5s/x5


BUILT TO LAST


The Zenmuse X5 is precisely manufactured with high-grade magnesium alloys and aluminium alloys, enabling it to withstand heavy field use.
Compact and lightweight to allow easy transportation and long flight times, the Zenmuse X5 is built to last.


Nothing could be further from the truth, and the above is tantamount to false and misleading advertising.


I'm also sending this to support@dji.com, however I have received no responses to any support requests for customer units for several weeks.


I don't anticipate a response from them on this matter.


DJI can ignore this at their peril, because if one of these units falls from the sky as a result of this design flaw and goes through a vehicle windscreen or strikes a person, there will be casualties or even fatalities.


I'd recommend all owners inspect their gimbals as a matter of urgency and contact DJI to demand a strengthened assembly be supplied as soon as humanly possible.


Please feel free to copy and paste this message anywhere that you feel is appropriate


peace out


Glenn
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Yaw axis

yaw axis

yaw axis

A good detailed post. As many people buying the Pro are using it for commercial work you should send a copy to the Australian Aviation Authority. Maybe they can ask Dji some questions.   Im sure a recall or issue of replacement gimbals could be demanded.  We are all required to satisfy airworthiness requirements and DJI are aware of that.

ruckusman
On your pictures i don't see any issue, except you disassembled the gimbal yourself, which can influence your warranty... however if you need it to get fixed, please contact us through the life chat or phone call.
Also could you please leave me your contacts so we can contact you about this issue, and solve it as soon as possible. Thank you!

DJI-Tim Posted at 2015-12-9 08:21
ruckusman
On your pictures i don't see any issue, except you disassembled the gimbal yourself, which ...

Look at the crack around the hub!!!!!

my god.....

Now that could make for a bad day for someone not noticing it.  Good catch.  In the aviation community, this would be a AD to be fixed right away before next flight.

Put a little bit of j-b weld around that it will be good as new.

Also had an X5 crack around the pan axis hub..

Just and FYI - check post 47271 from Blade Strike on this page

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/s ... 80074&page=3152

It may be well worth your while to send him a PM

Good info as I should be receiveing my pro this week or next week...

Also had a small crash with I1 v2.0 and X5 gimbal and it cracked the YAW motor mount.
Yaw motor was crooked, but i managed to straighten it and then added some epoxy glue to strengthen the area around cracks.
Couple of photos of cracks and after epoxy glue - https://goo.gl/photos/69JVzv8xzJ9RLT6g7
Seems to hold for 5 flights now.

But i have a problem, after reassembly of the yaw motor, X5 will boot up 45 degrees to the left from center.
See video -

puck.quentin@gm Posted at 2016-7-17 15:27
Also had a small crash with I1 v2.0 and X5 gimbal and it cracked the YAW motor mount.
Yaw motor was ...

That cable looks effed up. I thought the gimbal had a center starting postion it expects to see during boot? When you used the epoxy did you sand some of the area clean? It needs to be sanded and ruffed up for it to bond and hold.

We have the same problem! We crash landed, nothing major, at that speed nothing should have broke. The Yaw Mount was shattered, we tried to fix it ourselves but we also noticed that the ribbon cable had also split. Rip x5. Had to buy a new one. DJI what the feck were you thinking when you thought a 1.1mm thickness on light weight weak metal to hold an expensive and not light weight camera. Get your act together.

Wow, glad I waited to buy a Z3.

I had the same thing happen after a rough landing from 3 meters high.
See: http://forum.dji.com/thread-47499-1-1.html

Rinzler Posted at 2016-7-18 20:46
That cable looks effed up. I thought the gimbal had a center starting postion it expects to see du ...

A little bit yes, but it still works.
I got a helpful info from inspirepilots forum that the nut is magnetic and you need to turn it to get the right position. Just read that i should have marked the nut position before i opened it up. Had like ~20 tries to get the nut position correct now, but it works now.

Puck can you please put a picture of the correct position of the nut?

I think it would be easer for DJI to make the parts easily accessible. Many people in this industry are above average mechanics. They can certainly handle their own repairs. We have all invested way too much money already into this stuff any help we can get saving money on repairs will only build customer loyalty.

Where to get parts for x5 pro yaw axis motor parts

Zenmuse x5

Na Toll 
Komplett enttäuscht, habe mit meinem Inspire Unfall gehabt und zenmuse x5 abgebrochen, Ersatzteile nulllllll , Sie finden nicht und schickt DJI auch net , nur müssen die zu Reparatur schicken, dann kommt Drama, kostenanvorschlag !!!!!!!! Meine zenmuse hat in Gehäuse Risse und wollen Sie 500€ für komplett tauschen, ICH WILL NICHT! Keine Chance 
Es ist wie Sie ein Auto kaufen nachdem unfall, Auto Raumen mit etwa in Motor kaputt ist dann sagt company "wir schicken keine Ersatzteile und nur wir selber reparieren auch reparieren wir die komplett" !!!!!!! 
Ich kann und darf nicht entscheiden Motor von mein Auto wichtig ist oder Raumen !
Ehrlich Mülllllllllllll

MINIATOR.ORG 

Es mein Internetseite, bis letztes Woche habe überall wegen mein Arbeitberich gesagt DJI UND INSPIRE SIND BESTENS, paar Leute haben wegen meine Worte etwa von DJI gekauft aber leider bin ab jetzt ganz im andere Richtung, LEIDER

Very detailed and thorough post - thanks for sharing your findings

This happened to my Spark.  Some bird was attacking it and a couple of others were circling it.  I landed though but at the max decent rate.  It was trying to kick it I think but the Spark did not budge one bit.  Whoever crashed this Inspire does not know how to handle the pressure.  When you are near the ground you need to pop up the throttle so it eases in the landing.  Not go straight full down the throttle.  Some people panic like this and this can be the major reason as to why a lot of people die and worse.  If there were logs it could show operator error.

Benim kameram da da aynı sorun var ve o parçayı dji dahil hiç bir yerden bulamadık nasıl temin edeceğimiz konusunda fikri olan var mı

my god.....