Aeromirage
First Officer
Flight distance : 1778045 ft
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A chain is only as strong as it's weakest link. How true......
I had a very minor crash last week putting the bird into a tree. (See http://forum.dji.com/thread-46847-1-1.html)
Initally, I thought my only damage was broken props but a few days later, I noticed the gimbal was not straight. It was leaning toward the side a little. It did not wobble as it swiveled, but remained on it's axis, which showed that the shaft of the pan motor was not bent. I removed the gimbal from the craft and rotated the top around and saw that it was rubbing in places. Then it broke.
So, figuring that all bets were off as far as warranty was concerned, I took it apart. I was VERY disturbed at what I found. The top mounting plate, on which the entire gimbal, camera and lens is suspended from is made of a VERY thin piece of metal. Wether it is aluminum, magnesium, pot metal or some other allow is less important than the way it is designed. Aside from the thin-ness, there are 2 slots molded into it to pass the ribbon cable through. While these are entirely necessary, they serve to weaken it further.
Part of the evolution of the design of any product is looking at it's weaknesses and making improvements in future production.
Look at the Phantom 4. Is it any accident that the camera's tilt mechanism is supported on both sides? I think not.
I opened a ticket with DJI support in the hopes that I may purchase a replacement part. Since I took it apart, I am pretty sure that warranty is null and void. But, for the sake of a part that could certainly have been designed with a little more strength, should I have to trash the whole gimbal / camera?
I also hope that some of the forum's DJI employees will pass along to the engineering department that this part could become a problem, (Perhaps widespread?), and possibly change the way the part is made.
Should a $2300 device be so delicately mounted to the aircraft. [Or $3599 if it's an X5R!)
Here are some pictures:
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