Howdy folks.

Today I was planning to test a few camera modes out with the mavic and took the clamp and Gimbal protector off as normal, I always store mine in the bag with both on.

When I removed the Gimbal protector, I noticed a thin cracking just where the latch is! I'very always been carefully with it, never flown with it attached ... I'm guessing that it's a stress fracture.

Has anyone else notice similar?

It also looks like there are other scratches on your gimbal cover, but yes that is a weak spot and won't take much to crack it..

I noticed this on mine yesterday

Exactly the same thing at the same place on mine! I will order a new one soon but it seems that they have a problem with this Gimball protector at this specific place...maybe I'll wait...

I only use it for storage so if that's the case, shore it up with gorilla glue or super glue

before it gets too bad, make a mold , then layup for carbon fiber product.

If you see that happening just drill a small hole 1mm at the end of crack it will stop it traveling any further, does anybody know if these can be purchased and how much. Thank you

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-1-2 08:06
If you see that happening just drill a small hole 1mm at the end of crack it will stop it traveling any further, does anybody know if these can be purchased and how much. Thank you

I was going to buy one, to make a shade cover I think it was between $15-$20 ea. I never got it though.

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-2 08:15
I was going to buy one, to make a shade cover I think it was between $15-$20 ea. I never got it though.

http://store.dji.com/product/mav ... or-hood#/?_k=6e2tov

Just seen them on dji store €12 also seen this new item cover.

In days of old, we used to boil plastic props to help prevent/protect them against fracture,  not sure if this plastic has similar properties ?  luckily they are available now as replacement parts.

They will break easy, you have to be gentle.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-1-2 08:20
http://store.dji.com/product/mavic-remote-controller-monitor-hood#/?_k=6e2tov

Just seen them on dji store €12 also seen this new item cover.

I mean gimbal shade cover like this

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-2 08:48
I mean gimbal shade cover like this Cover

Yes I've seen those would like to have a go at making one.

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-2 08:47
They will break easy, you have to be gentle.

I deffo have been very careful with mine. I can only assume its a weak point of the clip. I hope there will be protective hoods released soon as i dont have s 3d printer etc

Danny-B- Posted at 2017-1-2 09:47
I deffo have been very careful with mine. I can only assume its a weak point of the clip. I hope there will be protective hoods released soon as i dont have s 3d printer etc

http://store.dji.com/product/mavic-gimbal-cover#/?_k=6cuurm


€12 3/5 days shipping

Danny-B- Posted at 2017-1-2 09:47
I deffo have been very careful with mine. I can only assume its a weak point of the clip. I hope there will be protective hoods released soon as i dont have s 3d printer etc

They have them available in the store.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-1-2 09:57
http://store.dji.com/product/mavic-gimbal-cover#/?_k=6cuurm

so far that's the lowest I've seen

DJI-Ken Posted at 2017-1-2 09:59
They have them available in the store.

Cheers,

Think i'd prefer something like that sunshade thing though ... Do DJI have any plans on making something like the DIY ones created so far ?

Danny-B- Posted at 2017-1-2 12:34
Cheers,

Think i'd prefer something like that sunshade thing though ... Do DJI have any plans on making something like the DIY ones created so far ?

I do not know, possibly not.

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-2 08:15
I was going to buy one, to make a shade cover I think it was between $15-$20 ea. I never got it though.

I had a few spare minutes today so I took a drill and a mini sander/polisher with a custom micro backing pad to make mine into a shade today.

Surprisingly easy.  I undersized mine and then test-fitted and used the sander to 'grind out' any further plastic required to resize the aperture.  Have some matte black paint on order to finish it up.  It took quite a bit of abuse from me when drilling it out and (fingers crossed) hasn't cracked yet.

Here's a shot during test fitting (which included flying, just to make sure) and a pic of the mini tool I  used for grinding/sanding.

Still to file and sand prior to painting, but that should take only a few minutes since the plastic is nice and soft.

Broke mine at exactly that place, doesn't take much.
I keep it in place for the time being with an elastic. Ordered 2 replacements and I will be more careful going forward now that I am aware of this weak spot.

No big deal...

I wonder if the cold makes this more brittle or likely to crack instead of flexing?

If you are 3D printing the gimbal protector, I would use a more flexible material such as Nylon or Taulman 910 to prevent crack. The harder and less flexible the material is, the easier it will crack when the force exert is more than the strength of the material. A more flexible material will also absorb shock energy if you hit the protector.

I'd love somebody to make a lexan version of the sun shade.  Something that will allow a little deflection or give if it ever impacted anything.

In the meantime I might add little foam bumpers to my own sun shade once I finish making it, since everything outside of the field of view is fair game for alteration.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-1-2 09:04
Yes I've seen those would like to have a go at making one.

If you do, post some pictures, the guy in the video made it look easy...

Heavysledz Posted at 2017-1-2 18:32
I wonder if the cold makes this more brittle or likely to crack instead of flexing?

I would assume it would make it more brittle

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-3 07:52
If you do, post some pictures, the guy in the video made it look easy...

I just posted some pics above (tried to post these yesterday, but they wouldn't attach).  Still half-way though the project as I'm traveling and waiting on paint.  Reposting pics here for ease.

I used the drill approach vs. a cutting wheel and it worked very well.  Three minor issues I encountered that the guy in the video (who is awesome IMO) didn't cover:

- Masking tape doesn't want to stick to this thing - it's a very slick surface.  Even in the guy's video you can see the masking tape sliding around on the surface.  Either use the high strength stuff, or do what I did and just free form with a marker (preferably one you can easily wipe off.  I used a dry erase marker which would only leave a very feint line, but that was enough for my purposes)

- My drill bit was very prone to wander because of the slickness of the plastic surface, combined with the convex shape.  The trick is to start the drill bit VERY slowly, and then speed it up when it has 'caught' the plastic.  Tedious, but more accurate.

- Finally the other thing the guy in the video  didn't mention is that - if you use the drill bit to 'cut' from one drill hole to the adjacent drill hole, it's very hard to move the drill bit in a perfectly straight line between hole A and Hole B.  This is because the drill bit doesn't want to move straight across; rather it wants to move diagonally, based on the direction of the drill bit rotation (clockwise the bit wants to mode down, and counter-clockwise it wants to move up).  Because of this I would recommend: 1) drilling the holes as close together as possible to minimize the bridging that you need to do; 2) making sure the direction your cutting and the drill bit spin orientation match (e.g. if it wanders, it does so toward the center piece that you want to cut out vs. wandering outside of your guide lines; and 3) Drawing the aperture smaller than you think you need.  That way, if you make a mistake you still have room to play with, and even if you don't make a mistake you can just file or grind the opening to suit.

I haven't filed mine as I used my handy-dandy grinder/polisher that I use for car detailing, but the plastic is so soft that it should file well with a gentle hand.

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-3 07:52
If you do, post some pictures, the guy in the video made it look easy...

I will order a couple see how I get on, I am a Goldsmith so have the tools no experience working with Plastic but will post pics unless I make a mess of reputation on the line..

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-1-3 09:57
I will order a couple see how I get on, I am a Goldsmith so have the tools no experience working with Plastic but will post pics unless I make a mess of reputation on the line..

lol

Goldsmith, I'm assuming you have a steady hand. So I'm sure you'll do fine.

BuzzCut Posted at 2017-1-3 09:20
I just posted some pics above (tried to post these yesterday, but they wouldn't attach).  Still half-way though the project as I'm traveling and waiting on paint.  Reposting pics here for ease.

I used the drill approach vs. a cutting wheel and it worked very well.  Three minor issues I encountered that the guy in the video (who is awesome IMO) didn't cover:

Good job on the pics.. How well does it work for you in the sun?

Still traveling?

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-3 11:10
Good job on the pics.. How well does it work for you in the sun?

Still traveling?

Still travelling unfortunately (I work almost exclusively out of state).

I wasn't able to fully assess this as it wasn't really sunny yesterday, and I didn't have the matte paint for the sun shade, but I didn't notice any glare on the lens so far.  At most angles I'm hoping this will work pretty well!

BuzzCut Posted at 2017-1-3 11:43
Still travelling unfortunately (I work almost exclusively out of state).

I wasn't able to fully assess this as it wasn't really sunny yesterday, and I didn't have the matte paint for the sun shade, but I didn't notice any glare on the lens so far.  At most angles I'm hoping this will work pretty well!

that's good. I did notice in the video it was a bit offset, and yours is pretty equal on both sides, that's why Im curious.. the offset would throw off my OCD but if it works it works.

MarcusPolus Posted at 2017-1-3 12:39
that's good. I did notice in the video it was a bit offset, and yours is pretty equal on both sides, that's why Im curious.. the offset would throw off my OCD but if it works it works.

Ha!  Mine is a little offset and it does throw off my OCD, but not as much as if I could see the cover in the picture

The good news is that if it doesn't look the way you want it to you can just take a little more material off (the old woodworking term is 'nibbling') until you get the desired result.  the plastic is pretty easy to work with.

Frits48 Posted at 2017-1-2 16:21
Broke mine at exactly that place, doesn't take much.
I keep it in place for the time being with an elastic. Ordered 2 replacements and I will be more careful going forward now that I am aware of this weak spot.

It's not a BIG deal, but it's still a deal. Mine broke the exact same way, but I wont be ordering any replacements. Whether I buy only one or a dozen, they will all be broken. I will wait until DJI, or a third party makes a better one.
Here is a 3rd party Sun Shade.

http://www.shapeways.com/product ... uEq1umokaAq1U8P8HAQ

GrizzlyAdams Posted at 2017-1-3 12:59
It's not a BIG deal, but it's still a deal. Mine broke the exact same way, but I wont be ordering any replacements. Whether I buy only one or a dozen, they will all be broken. I will wait until DJI, or a third party makes a better one.
Here is a 3rd party Sun Shade.

exactly my thoughts .. if it has happened to more than one of us .. its a flaw in the design. no point buying more of them for it to happen again.

I'm not overly keen on the 3d printed ones, 3d printing isnt good enough resolution for me ... i'm sure someone will bring one out that looks good and works well

i already made one, actually not bad.

Oh, you spent some time on that.  Very nice!  Looks great!!

Finally got home last night and got the requisite 30 additional minutes to finish this.  Here's how I did it:


I scuffed up the inside and outside with 2500 and wire wool.  I probably could have used a more aggressive grit, as and smooth-ish parts will not take paint properly (at least not my Tamiya plastic paint)

Used a file and 2500 grit to finish off the edges and make them smooth (as smooth as I wanted to).  I didn't want the clips to get covered in paint as I didn't want small parts shearing off into the Mavic over time, to I masked these parts off.

I then used more masking tape to attach the assembly to a small stick (and EZ Dabb) so I wouldn't get completely covered in paint when spraying.

Gave it about 4 coats as its very thin paint inside and out.  At the end of that process you could hold it up to a 200W light and not see through it.

Next to try it out to see if it reduces glare.

i put mine in pocket and broke it i have 2 on order

BuzzCut Posted at 2017-1-7 09:46
Finally got home last night and got the requisite 30 additional minutes to finish this.  Here's how I did it:

Good job..