How to tell if quadcopter motor is bad

How to tell if quadcopter motor is bad

You can test the resistance between all three motors wire on the ESC for the most common type of omission.the engines should all read open and not read a low resistance or short-circuit. It won’t necessarily mean the ESC is suitable, but if anything reads anything but transparent, it means it’s terrible.

Besides, you can do a resistance test on the motor among all phases. All engines should read a low resistance if it doesn’t, then know that it’s terrible. If it does, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s okay.

Several motor test

• Dry testing brushless motors.
• Overheating magnets result in lower magnet strength, which in turn results in higher Kv. Motor current is proportional to Kv cubed.
• Opening an outrunner for a visual check-up.
• Generator test, which you are required to use only a power drill and a voltmeter.

How to test motor rotate direction

When building a quadcopter, you should check the motor spin direction after connecting it to an ESC. If the motor on your quadcopter rotates in the wrong direction, it will flip over when you try to take off.

Using the motor tab in beta-flight.

The easiest way is to test your motor using the motor tab in beta-flight. Other flight software offers similar motor testing features, including KISS, flight one, clean flight, and butter flight. This is available in ESC configuration BLHeliSuitr too.

Enable the checkbox and increase the slider just a tiny bit to spin up the motor. Don’t drag the slider up, spinning the motor at full speed without propeller for too long can damage the engine. Touch the motor bell lightly with a finger when it’s turning, and let your finger drag across the signal. When the sound is spinning in the opposite direction, you feel more resistance. So you can tell which way the motor is turning

Arm and check

If you can’t afford motor testing for some reason, you can try to arm the quad using you’re your transmitter without props on.

Servo tester or radio receiver

You could link your ESC to a servo tester, with PWM output. The motor spins as you increase the PWM signal. This used to be an effortless way to check if ESC and motors are working correctly. However, most ESC’s for racing drones these days don’t have a built-in 5V BEC anymore, so you have somehow to supply 5V to the servo tester or radio receiver.

What if the motors are spinning the wrong way

To change the motor spin direction is secure, never mind about it when you are making your quadcopter. Just solder the wires up and complete the building, then check more path when you are done. You can reverse motor spin direction in the ESC settings or swap two of the three motor wire. There are two significant ways to change the motor direction in a quadcopter. You can swap cable or do it from the software configuration.

How to choose motor for racing drone and quadcopter

Know the size and weight of your quadcopter

Before choosing automobiles, you should have an idea of the size and weight of your quadcopter you want to build. The sum weight of the quadcopter should include all the components: frame, F C, ESC, motors, propellers, RX, VTX, antenna, ESC’s, LIPO battery, and GoPro.

You can estimate, you don’t have to be 100% accurate. It’s sufficient to overestimate the weight and have extra power than underestimate, and to take off. When you know the frame size, you can determine the maximum propeller size allowed.

Calculating thrust required

Having an estimated total weight of the craft, you can work out the minimum amount of push needed for the motor and propeller combination to produce. The usual rule is that the maximum thrust produced by all motors is at least double of the total weight of quadcopter. If the push is too little, the copter will not respond well to your control, and it might even struggle to lift off.

For drones that are faster flying, you should expect the thrust to weight ratio to be much more significant. It’s not unusual to see 10.1 or even 13.1 thrust to weight ratios. For acro flying, at least 5.1 is recommended. With a more thrust to weight ratio, a quadcopter will have more significant agility and acceleration, but it might become harder to manage as well. Just a small touch of throttle will be enough to shoot the quad into orbit like a rocket.

The primary measurement of motor performance

After deciding the size of the motor, you probably still have many options available to choose from. Consider the following factors to pick the best engine for your application:

• thrust
• efficiency and current draw
• weight

Your decision depends on your use, flying style, and how you want your aircraft to perform.

Thrust: when choosing a motor, people will always look at thrust being the first thing. If your thrust is higher, it gives you faster acceleration, but you also require to be aware of current draw and efficiency.

If your quad pulls a lot of current at the lofty throttle, the maximum discharge rate of your battery has to be able to maintain. The battery must also have a big enough capacity to ensure adequate flight time.

Motor weight: since the motors are mounted at the four corners of the frame, they have a substantial effect on the responsiveness of your quad. More massive engines increase the angular moment of inertia of your quad, and the motors must work harder to change attitude.

Efficiency and current draw: motor efficiency is calculated by dividing thrust by power at 100% throttle, measured in grams per watt. The higher this number is, the more competent the motor. It’s essential to look at efficiency through the whole throttle range, not just the top end. Some engines might be active at the lower throttle but could lose effectiveness by drawing increasingly higher current as they approach their limits

The more thrust produces, the larger the current drawn to produce that thrust, so motors with high thrust and low flow are preferred. Inefficient engines either generate too little thrust or draw too much current. Every engine responds differently to different propellers; carefully choosing your propeller is the key to balance thrust and efficiency.