DwightMann

Is there any source for CAD drawings of servos or motors? The last thing that I want is to spend several hours designing and building aplane only to find out that I need to hack the cowl or that the servos don't fit. It would also allow me to make my servo and motor mounts before they are in the plane

All Day Dan

My Feedback: (5)

Dwight, I took the three view drawings that the manufactures have and brought them in to AutoCad useing the image command. I then traced around the out line with polylines or lines etc. Finally, they were scaled up to the dimensions the manufacturer had on their drawings. I'll attach a couple of examples. dan.

DwightMann

Maybe I need to be less lazy. Unless you are WAY faster then me, that engine must have taken awhile.

All Day Dan

My Feedback: (5)

I have a library of parts that I usually use such as tanks, retracts, wheels and lots of other thinks that I insert in my designs as I go along. The engine did take a while to draw it up but it was time well spent. I also have the top and front view. It helps in the long run to have all the parts ready for instant use. Dan.

Hemikiller

My Feedback: (125)

There's a thread here with a bunch of parts...

http://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?t=320031

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

I have SolidWorks models for several HiTec servos and a few nitro engines. What CAD format do you need and what specifically are you looking for?

BMatthews

If you've got specific servos it's well worth the time to CAD them up yourself. They don't need to be fancy with filleted corners and such. Just simple blocky things with the wheel and mounting wings that are correctly sized. That's the beauty of CAD. You can have things hanging in air that are effectively attached thanks to the ability to form groups of objects into one item.

With a servo and calipers in hand if it takes you more than 5 to 7 minutes to CAD in a blocky simplified shape that can serve as a servo for sizing then you need to turn in your mouse...

DwightMann

That is where my problem lies. I am not sure which servos or motors I will use, but I know that they will not be something that I have. Most motors have specs regarding diameter ands length which is enough to start. Servo specs give overall height, but not distances abover and below the mount

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

Ok, then try this. HiTec, like most servo companies, provides outline dimensions online. I usually get all my HiTec servos from ServoCity and they provide the whole line online. That helps me work out what my dimensions will be. Good enough for approximations. Now that I have several servos modeled, I usually pick from those and so I usually don't need to model another servo for the next project.

Motors are a different story. (Are we talking motors or engines.) Our club is very supportive of it members. Whenever I think I might want to use a particular engine, I send out an email and if a club member has that engine, they usually lend it to me for an evening so I can model it. I'm in good standing with the LHS and for very special cases, they have even lent me a new engine to model.

Iron Dog

My god, Chevelle, those are gorgeous!

DwightMann

I agree.
I am using TurboCad, and usually stop at drwaing a plan.

Chevelle

My Feedback: (2)

Ijust re-read your post. What I missed the first time was, "to spend several hours designing and building..." Idon't think I can help you. For simple projects, Itake months doing just the CAD work and then a year or more to build the project. Complex projects can take more than a year in just the design work.

On the Hudson Flier project, it took two years to do the full scale CAD work and then two years to build the full scale plane. It took another six months to do the design again at 1/4 scale and a year to build that. OK. That's certainly not typical.

I don't look at the CAD work as something to be used to get things close and then build. The CADmodel is the first build. The construction is the second. For the Hudson Flier, both the full scale and 1/4 scale model came in right on the button as far as weight and CG. There were no "aw crap, this part doesn't fit." It was new for the restoration shop. They starting building the undercarriage and I started to get calls that the parts didn't fit. They assured me that they were made to the print. After spending some time with them, I showed them that the parts did indeed all line up and you could practically drop the bolt into the perfectly aligned holes in all the mating parts.

I'd much rather scape the electrons on the screen than the parts in the real thing. Use the Force. It is addicting once you see what you can do with it. I haven't used TurboCAD is a long time but Iunderstand that it has a 3D component. I recommend that you get on the band wagon.

Best of luck.

BMatthews

I doubt any of us will look at CAD renderings of that sort again without giving a thought to the hours that go into such a project.

As for the CAD servos and such I can't offer anything other than to use what you have or buy what you think you'll need so that you can model them correctly. Some of this stuff is out there but as the products we use are constantly superceded by new ones the CAD files become outdated other than to those of us with stocks of the old servos and motors that we still have and still use. If you find what you want then great, but in the end buying the servos and motor ahead of doing the design work is not a bad option if you are going to use them in the eventual build.

easyschnucki

My Feedback: (2)

Try Grabcad.com