Hi guys.

I've found these Metal propeller mounts for the Phantom 4, which replace the stock plastic ones. I'm not sure how good they work but straight fron the get-go just from reading the title and looking at the pics, these definitely look to be a worthy purchase, don't you think so?
http://www.infinity-hobby.com/mobile_product_info.php?products_id=12812&language=en

I've read around a few forums including this one about the plastic propeller mounts developing cracks and wearing out overtime which would then potentially cause a propeller to come loose during flight, and I don't know about you guys, but I'd hate to see that happen with my own drone once I have it. Such a huge amount of money gone in an instant.
But with these metal ones, I can't see that happening anymore.

I've ordered my own Phantom 4 drone a couple of days ago and currently awaiting it's arrival sometime during this week or the next. I've ordered a set of these for some quality reassurance. Can't wait to try them out.

Will give them a go and report back here once I've had a thorough testing session with them.

If anyone's used these, do they work nicely with the plastic propellers?

Found them on eBy too. Interesting.

working great with my Phantom 4

Very nice, might be interested in these myself

How does one inspect the mount for damage?  This seems like it would be an excellent upgrade for future Phantom models... Possibly next year...

ronmasdale@gmx. Posted at 2016-8-8 20:22
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Each aluminium mount weighs around 1.22 grams. I honestly couldn't tell the weight difference between these metal ones and the original plastic ones when holding each of them in my hands.

I've done around three or so flights with a set installed and I believe that they do work very well. It's still early days as I've only had them installed for around 2 days, but they seem to be very stable. Only a bit of paint has scratched off of one of the black ones.
I'd rather have these metal ones installed than the plastic ones, that's for sure. Much safer that way. Go ahead and purchase a set of you're interested. Can't lose.


Pics:

What's DJI's take on these? Warranty effected? DJI should be adopting same especially as people are mentioning about cracks in the plastic ones which clearly has to be a design issue.

Anything that isnt DJI made thats installed on the unit voids the warranty... I have read on other sites that being metal they will conduct heat much better from the motors and possibly transfer it too the prop... I dont kno either way tho, warranty wise tho...

Heebus Posted at 2016-8-14 22:03
Anything that isnt DJI made thats installed on the unit voids the warranty... I have read on other s ...

And the fact remains that you solve only half of the problem (IF there really is a problem) because you keep the plastic propellers.
How many cases of these mounts breaking have been reported ?

PhanFran Posted at 2016-8-14 12:10
And the fact remains that you solve only half of the problem (IF there really is a problem) becaus ...

does it matter?, the point was that the plastic parts are from dji, and thus covered by warranty, metal ones arent, if your worried about your warranty stick to stock, dji approved equipement. I am addressing the question, not possing another one

Heebus Posted at 2016-8-15 00:13
does it matter?, the point was that the plastic parts are from dji, and thus covered by warranty,  ...

Ho ho... I just wanted to add something to your legitimate concern about the warranty: if you loose your warranty AND it does not improve the performance and/or safety of your AC it's not wise to buy these for two reasons.

It wasnt my concern it was calls4u's concern, my comment is a fact, anything that isnt manufactured by dji and used can and more then likely will void your warranty, its common in anything you buy. Anything that isnt purchased from and made buy the company and put on there product will be there way of getting out of paying for repairs or damage done by that part, fairly or unfairly. I'm not saying your comment is mute, I just didnt kno why you quoted me to do it, I simply answered the question, concerns he had. But to your point there are post of that piece cracking over time due to ware and tare, and I'm willing to bet there warranty covered it, tho I dont kno that for sure.

Warranty comes after you have crashed your aircraft, if this metal hub can prevent a crash due to a weak plastic hub giving in due to stress, then am all in for it.

I was not very happy with the plastic qr hub initially thou, the loads and shear forces are quite high at the mount point and the metal mount seems sensible enough to me.

Talking about heat, after 40 mins of flight, my motors are just warm, so wont cause any heat issues either.

Let's just say u crashed with metal. So then you put the plastic ones back on for warranty.

PhanFran Posted at 2016-8-14 08:10
And the fact remains that you solve only half of the problem (IF there really is a problem) because you keep the plastic propellers.
How many cases of these mounts breaking have been reported ?

I had a piece of propeller mount break off on me when I was taking off the props one day. Luckily it was on the ground when this broke, but then I stupidly bought a non OEM replacement mount and the piece was just a very tiny little bit smaller than the original and the prop flew off at 20 feet in the air, causing my phantom to crash and causing quite a bit of damage to it. I would stay away from anything that is not an authentic DJI replacement part. Once you use a non OEM piece...say goodbye to your warranty.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2017-3-23 14:20
I had a piece of propeller mount break off on me when I was taking off the props one day. Luckily it was on the ground when this broke, but then I stupidly bought a non OEM replacement mount and the piece was just a very tiny little bit smaller than the original and the prop flew off at 20 feet in the air, causing my phantom to crash and causing quite a bit of damage to it. I would stay away from anything that is not an authentic DJI replacement part. Once you use a non OEM piece...say goodbye to your warranty.

Is that not the exact issue that the metal ones are trying to solve, am not for or against the metal one, am confused same as any one else.

If the same situations as your would have to happen mid air that one of the plastic leg gave off mid flight, the metal ones might not break as easily as the plastic ones.

But i had issues with one of the metal mounts from ebay, the fit was not alright and the props did not click in place and i did not use them, then got another metal mount from (infinity hobby mentions above) fits perfectly well.

So its just a question is how long until the plastic one holds vs the metal Vs the risk of a fall mid air

fansb79229fd Posted at 2017-3-23 06:49
Let's just say u crashed with metal. So then you put the plastic ones back on for warranty.

I was thinking the same, no brainer really.

Hi, I think that the best solution could be to change the plastic mount propellers when our birds have several ours of flight in prevention of the break of one of them, better than buying the metal ones that we don't exactly how work in the long way.

As far as I am aware, there is no evidence of a problem with the DJI plastic ones unless they have been involved in a crash where the propellers have been damaged...

The DJI ones are considerably better tested and proven than any aftermarket ones.  

There is no way of knowing that metal is better than plastic.  Possibly the plasticity of the plastic is necessary to absorb shocks and protect the motors, or to prevent wear on the plastic locking mechanism of the propellers that could eventually result in the propellers flying off mid air.  The plastic ones will never suffer from metal fatigue!

I think it is sensible to stick with the well proven DJI plastic ones and replace them whenever you need replace the propellers.

visitkans Posted at 2017-3-24 01:48
Is that not the exact issue that the metal ones are trying to solve, am not for or against the metal one, am confused same as any one else.

If the same situations as your would have to happen mid air that one of the plastic leg gave off mid flight, the metal ones might not break as easily as the plastic ones.

It wasn't that the piece broke that made it crash, it was that the non DJI replacement piece was in-noticeably small and that was what caused the prop to fly off at 20 feet in the air....Never know if your replacement don't work until you crash. So to sum it up..the metal piece might not break, but if the piece that prop tighten onto isn't exactly the same size it will probably most likely end up crashing

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2017-3-24 13:47
It wasn't that the piece broke that made it crash, it was that the non DJI replacement piece was in-noticeably small and that was what caused the prop to fly off at 20 feet in the air....Never know if your replacement don't work until you crash. So to sum it up..the metal piece might not break, but if the piece that prop tighten onto isn't exactly the same size it will probably most likely end up crashing

If it's not exactly the same won't necessarily mean it will crash, for it to fail there would have to be lots of play or movement between the prop and the mount, in which case you just wouldn't use them. Further more if you bought a quality mount that was cnc machine from a billet and not cast, they would have to have the exact measurements from the original mount to feed into the cnc mill, so they would be the same. I wouldn't buy cast ones as they won't be as strong and possibly as close in spec to the originals.

Whenever DJI (or any other technology manufacturer) creates a new product, there's always plenty of companies who make a living out of manufacturing alternative parts. In many cases, these parts are different but not necessarily better.  I think they rely on owners simply assuming that "different must be better". Personally,  I  would never use any third party third party replacement component where it is part of the critical flight mechanism.

mic75 Posted at 2017-3-25 02:00
If it's not exactly the same won't necessarily mean it will crash, for it to fail there would have to be lots of play or movement between the prop and the mount, in which case you just wouldn't use them. Further more if you bought a quality mount that was cnc machine from a billet and not cast, they would have to have the exact measurements from the original mount to feed into the cnc mill, so they would be the same. I wouldn't buy cast ones as they won't be as strong and possibly as close in spec to the originals.

I can't stress how very little difference there was in size between this piece and the original. It was so small I had to use a magnifying glass to see the difference and even then I could barely notice. There was no play or movement....I put the prop on tightened it...made sure It was on tight, phantom started up normally, it even flew for about 2 minutes normally, but because of the tiny tiny tiny difference that neither I nor anyone else would have noticed unless they compared both pieces next to each other under a magnifying glass. As I said there was no movement, no play, just me thinking yes the problem is solved, getting all excited then being extremely disappointed and mad at myself for not getting OEM parts.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2017-3-25 09:32
I can't stress how very little difference there was in size between this piece and the original. It was so small I had to use a magnifying glass to see the difference and even then I could barely notice. There was no play or movement....I put the prop on tightened it...made sure It was on tight, phantom started up normally, it even flew for about 2 minutes normally, but because of the tiny tiny tiny difference that neither I nor anyone else would have noticed unless they compared both pieces next to each other under a magnifying glass. As I said there was no movement, no play, just me thinking yes the problem is solved, getting all excited then being extremely disappointed and mad at myself for not getting OEM parts.

It may have had more to do with differences in the amount of friction between plastic and metal compared to plastic against plastic.

There are far too many factors involved for anyone to know that one is better than the other without extensive testing.  The DJI ones are the best tested and are not showing problems and can easily be replaced very cheaply in the event of any collision which may have put excessive stress on them.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2017-3-25 09:32
I can't stress how very little difference there was in size between this piece and the original. It was so small I had to use a magnifying glass to see the difference and even then I could barely notice. There was no play or movement....I put the prop on tightened it...made sure It was on tight, phantom started up normally, it even flew for about 2 minutes normally, but because of the tiny tiny tiny difference that neither I nor anyone else would have noticed unless they compared both pieces next to each other under a magnifying glass. As I said there was no movement, no play, just me thinking yes the problem is solved, getting all excited then being extremely disappointed and mad at myself for not getting OEM parts.

You are talking about a plastic non oem mount aren't you, not metal. I'm talking about a good quality metal mount machined to the exact same size as oem. The metal one will always be stronger and it will not wear like a plastic one will, which will lead to failure if not noticed.

mic75 Posted at 2017-3-25 23:45
You are talking about a plastic non oem mount aren't you, not metal. I'm talking about a good quality metal mount machined to the exact same size as oem. The metal one will always be stronger and it will not wear like a plastic one will, which will lead to failure if not noticed.

Even though my plastic mount was a non oem it said for Phantom 4. Even the reviews on amazon were good. I'm sure they had intended the piece to be the exact same size, it wasn't. If you do get a non oem part for anything on a dji drone, I would inspect it very carefully with a magnifying glass to make sure it is nothing but exact.

fansb1fe1104 Posted at 2017-3-26 11:43
Even though my plastic mount was a non oem it said for Phantom 4. Even the reviews on amazon were good. I'm sure they had intended the piece to be the exact same size, it wasn't. If you do get a non oem part for anything on a dji drone, I would inspect it very carefully with a magnifying glass to make sure it is nothing but exact.

You're missing my point and we're going around in circles, also I would use a set of verniers before I used a magnifying glass because you can't measure with a magnifying glass. Being made of aluminium it's size that you need to worry about not weakness.

I was reading this post and no one talks about the different materials involved. Even tough metal is stronger, it conducts heat, and if presses against plastic, hot metal will melt the plastic causing the propeller to break and fly away. Even if it's cold, the sharp edges will start to cut the plastic inner hub, so I don't think this will be a good long term alternative. Maybe it gets cheaper and safer to just replace the plastic mount after some 30 flights (as I've read somewhere). Now, if you use carbon props, they will be a lot more resistant to heat and that could be a good combination with the metal support. But I'm talking quality carbon props and not those cheap ones that are too brittle. Another alternative which seems to be safe is to change the prop support and prop itself to those threaded ones. Not fast to mount, but, at least they don't rely on a simple click and fly option.

There is probably no advantage at all in using metal mounts nor carbon props over the tried and tested ones supplied by DJI.

Jesus Christ! If you want to use after market parts then use aftermarket parts.  No one can say one way or another if a part is better or worse without seriously testing them. Some of you people are just way over thinking the whole idea. Its a 10th of a micron to small, it will fail, people will die, governments will fall, the world will end. I know everybody wants to feel like their a real pilot and you have to protect the lives of those on board, but wait, your not a pilot and no ones on board. These are the guys that walk around their quad with a check list doing their pre-flight inspections and use anagrams instead of english. I get it, you want the full pilot experience when you play with your toys but seriously some of yall just go a little to far. If you want metal prop mounts then get them, its not going to hurt a thing. If you think that the 10th of a micron difference is going to kill people then dont use them but dont say that its going to fail when you have no idea what your talking about. Just cause somebody read on some other forum that Jim Bob's buddy had an issue so everybodys gonna have an issue just doesnt hold water. Relax people, its just not that serious.

And for the record the p3 series all have metal prop mounts and ive never seen a p3 prop melt because the heat from the motor melted the prop. Ive never felt one of my p4 motors get above luke warm.

Nobody seems to have mentioned that DJI is now selling metal mounting plates? http://store.dji.com/product/pha ... ng-plate-cw-and-ccw

SomeoneElsesDro Posted at 2017-6-20 02:57
Nobody seems to have mentioned that DJI is now selling metal mounting plates? http://store.dji.com/product/pha ... ng-plate-cw-and-ccw

Probably because they are NOT metal

Oh, I thought the upgraded design was. My bad.