On a windy day in July of 2017, six men met in Huntington Beach, CA to turn a dream into a reality.
After nearly a year of testing and prototyping Tommy was finally satisfied with the "Ummakwad" frame or what would later be known as "The Remix". Tommy goes through the history of all the prototypes in his video. The final frame design was incredibly detailed, complex, and demanding to manufacture.
Max and Kelvin from Newbeedrone met with Chad, Drew, and Tommy from Rotor Riot with a final prototype frame to finalize what needed to be done in order to put Ummagawd's dream frame into production.
Of course no Newbeedrone meeting is complete without some Acrobee flying and flipping. Coincidentally, this time, with the final prototype of the Beebrain v2! Tommy and Drew had a blast entertaining the little kids running around the outdoor mall.
As is to be expected, a meeting between two drone companies has to conclude with 5" fun and you can't forget the Korean BBQ afterwards too!
Back to The Remix, after some minor tweaks to increase strength at impact points, reduce CNC complexity, and simplify the assembly we arrived at this:
Above all else, both Newbeedrone and Rotor Riot strive for quality and attention to detail. Tommy has gone into a lot of detail in the product description for the frame as to the features and design choices behind the frame but there is so much more going on behind the scenes that you don't immediately see in the finished product.
Newbeedrone made three different molds for the battery and session pads, one each for foam, rubber, and TPU. Each of these materials was meticulously tested and tweaked before making a final decision. Several different anodizing processes were tested to get the perfect color on the aluminum parts.
Different grades of aluminum, stainless steel, and titanium were tested for hardware. Several versions of custom standoffs, washers, press-nuts, and other hardware were made in order to achieve the fit and finish that you find on the final product.
The arm slots are pocketed to increase structural rigidity. The camera mounting holes are both counter-sunk and internally chamfered to make sure the bolts and camera are centered during assembly. Chamfered arms are not only good to the touch, but also reduce de-lamination. Carbon fiber orientation is laid out correctly to increase strength and reduce flexibility. Even the battery strap slots are chamfered to increase the longevity of battery straps!
So many people put so much thought, energy, and effort into this project! Not to mention the quality of the materials and components, for the price, this frame really is a steal!
In the end, it's always worth it to be able to turn a dream into a reality!
We also made a custom RGB LED tail plate to really complete the look.
