Foamdrones

17/01/2023

Hello all!
Below is a link to a youtube video containing a little update on the Jellyfish V2 AND some flight footage!
To skip my rambling, go to 1.05 for the actual flying :)
In short: test printing is going pretty well! Public release of the 3d print files is scheduled for, give or take, the end of the month.
Frame weight is about 6 grams including camera mount with regular filament (pla/petg). If that is too heavy for you, i'd recommend trying out lightweight PLA/ASA "foaming" filament which reduces the weight to about 4 grams!
Enjoy!

28/12/2022

EDIT: Thanks to an amazingly quick response, we are full for now! But feel free to let me know if you are interested. If i need more people to test the frame, i will pm you!
In any case, release of the print files for the community is scheduled for januari, if all goes well and no big issues arise.

Original message:

Hello people!
For the closed testing phase of the Jellyfish v2 frame development i am looking for a few people who are willing to put some time and filament into test-printing my newest little brainchild!
If you are...:
1: genuinly interested in my Jellyfish v2 project
2: own any hobby-grade 3D printer, well setup and able to print reasonably dimensionally accurate
3: able to spend some of your time printing, taking pictures, assembling and providing feedback...

feel free to send me a private message! If all is good you will be invited into a private facebook group to allow for easy feedback collection and information sharing.

This closed testing phase is primarily for testing out 3d printing performance on different printer setups and with a variation of filaments. ABS, PETG, PLA, foaming filaments, CF filaments... all are welcome! Ofcourse, if you want to build a flying model, you can surely do that! The Jellyfish v2 is designed around a Betafpv 1s F4 aio "plus shaped" board, TBS Unify pro32 nano VTX, any camera with FXT style lens (tiny whoop pinch, caddx ant lite...), 08xx motors and stick lipos :)

want in? Let me know!
Robby

08/12/2022

08/12/2022

Update 0.9 on the 55mm pushpropper!
Yes, you read that right.. Its as good as done. :)
After my last update in may, i decided to take a break from developing my new creation until at least the end of summer.
A few weeks ago i felt that motivation and inspiration was all charged up, so i went back to work. And man, am i happy with the result. :)
Almost 3 years ago i released my Jellyfish frame to the FPV community. Today, i present to you the Jellyfish 2.0!
The basics are the same: Easy and fast to print with regular filament, flexible and durable parts with as few layers as possible, and ofcourse a wheelbase smaller than 65mm!
The Jellyfish 2.0 comes with an updated and more logical structure, with the camera on top and the battery below. To accomodate the battery with a minimal airflow loss, i increased the wheelbase from 45mm to 55mm. Total frame size is 74 by 74 mm. The camera mount/battery mount pieces are snapped in place and with the camera's new location, its much less exposed to impact. The frame is also a couple mm less high than the Jellyfish 1.0 (about 38mm). And finally.. It simply looks alot more pretty! But thats ofcourse my opinion. :)
What's left for me to do now is pid-tuning, test flying and preparing the design for a broad 3d-printer compatibility. As i did with the Jellyfish 1.0, i may ask around for some people willing to test-print in the near future! ;)
Below are some assembly pictures. The green frame is the Jellyfish 1.0 for comparison.

electronics used:
-Betafpv F4 1S 5A AIO Brushless Flight Controller. A "plus" shaped FC is required!
-Betafpv 19500kv motors
-Caddx ant lite camera, any camera with similar lens fits. Including the Tiny Whoop pinch cam!
-TBS Unify pro32 nano 1.1 VTX. A big shout-out to the guys at Team Blacksheep. Regardless of its tiny size, soldering up this VTX was easy and absolutely not scary!
-Gemfan 31mm props. These have shaft holes all the way through to allow for easy top-first mounting which is necessary for a pushpropper.
-Tattu 270mah HV stick lipos.

Robby R

19/05/2022

Update 0.4 on the 55mm pushpropper!

I'm late to the Covid-19 hype, but it finally caught me. So if my voice sounds abit hoarse and you dont get what im saying, feel free to ask me to repeat.

As i mentioned in my previous post, for 0.4 i wanted to focus on the camera mount and battery mount.
The fever dream you see on the pictures below is what i came up with.
1 half of the battery mount and the camera mount became one combined piece that is slotted in the main frame. camera mount has an angle of about 20 degrees, which should be plenty good for most people. The camera used here is a Caddx ant lite, which is bigger than a Tinywhoop pinch cam. If this one fits, a pinch cam fits aswell. The camera sits about center in the frame and should be well protected from blunt crashes (floor/wall/ceiling). At the back of the main frame, the second part of the battery mount is slotted in. No more rubber bands!
I provided some space for the TBS nano VTX between the battery location and the underside of the main board but this still requires some further brainstorming.

To-do list for 0.5:

-Optimize the VTX location
-Optimize everything else
-maybe order the Betafpv main board i want to use, although the Alienwhoop zero does a plenty good job as a dummy for now.
-NAME! (Jellyfish 2.0 actually wouldn't be a bad choice)

For the final version of the frame i estimate an ETA by the end of summer. Plenty of time left!
Now if you would excuse me, i'm going to continue being sick.

Robby

30/04/2022

Update 0.3 on the 55mm pushpropper!

Phew, this was a handful..
To design a frame is all fun and games, until its time to fit in a camera.
In the Jellyfish, i had plenty of space to put the camera in front because the batteries that i used, which aren't stick-lipos, were mounted on the very top of the frame.
But this time, there are stick lipos involved. And they are NOT installed on top but below the FC. No room for a camera in front because this &²é"'(§ Lipo is in the way XD
And no, mounting the lipo sideways is no option because i'm stubborn. And mounting the camera sideways is... inconvenient.
I don't like stick lipos. I hate them, loathe them, and despise them. They are so stupid long in sub-65mm frames.
But they are popular and widespread available. Pretty sure that if you ask for them in a local Starbucks, they add one to your coffee order. So i guess i will have to work with them. So i did.
The miniature sombrero hat you see on the pictures below is what i came up with.

Battery is tucked away between the FC and the propellers. Camera is mounted above the FC and sits pretty well protected. Camera is mounted by its lens (FXT style lens). For example Caddx ant lite and the Tinywhoop pinch cam should be a perfect fit.
The "+" shape of the FC that is intended for this frame (picture below) makes it very easy to attach a minimalistic camera mount to the main frame itself without having to work around a full sized board.
To BetaFpv: Please dont discontinue this form factor. i LOVE it!
To any other board manufacturer: What are you waiting for? (chips perhaps)
I plan to provide space for a VTX (TBS unify pro) below the "main frame", between the main board and the battery. Shouldn't be much of an issue.

To do for V0.4:

1: Improve the battery mount, trying to get rid of the rubber band. Brainstorming guaranteed.
2: Work out a final version for the camera mounting system. (the one you see here is a raw experiment)
3: Consider some space for the VTX
4 and up: Maybe allready some cosmetic improvements and weight shaving. One of my favorite design phases. :)

Robby

21/04/2022

Update 0.2 on the 55mm pushpropper!
Made some very subtle changes and a few more noticeable ones. :) Some pictures show a comparison with the previous (the very first) printout. Previous version is always on the left! The board you see is an Alienwhoop Zero which serves as a test fit dummy.

1: I didn't like a 77mm by 77mm frame (total size, not wheelbase). So i made it 2mm smaller! 75mm sounds better does it not?
Frame is now 5-6mm bigger than a Jellyfish and about 7mm smaller than a classic Tiny Whoop. I'll try to maintain current size since i like it and smaller is impossible, unless you like rattling propellers.

2: The struts (arms that connect the main frame with the shroud) got a total makeover. See pictures. They look less like a "5-minute quick drawup" and more like "2 hours looking for the right shape before finding out that all i needed was the ellipse tool"
I dare you to say it's ugly..

3: some more experimenting with nylon nuts/bolts/standoffs. Really liking it so far. These weigh absolutely nothing and are a little less fiddly than Tiny Whoop style FC screws. For release though, you will be able to choose between a main frame for nuts n bolts and a main frame for regular screws.

On the to-do list:
1: Battery mount could be a little bit higher. USB port will probably not take as much space as i anticipated, and if zo, standoffs can be used for the board.
2: Camera mount!
3: I still don't have a name...
4: ... and i should probably start thinking about ordering some electronics. Still waiting abit for Tiny Whoop to stock up on motors, so i don't have to just ship a Pinch Cam across the Atlantic. But the Betafpv board with ELRS and a little transmitter that supports it could allready be sent on its way i suppose.

Thats it for now!
Robby

15/04/2022

Update on the 55mm pushpropper!

Progress appears to be going alot smoother compared to when i was working on the Jellyfish which took me about a year to finish up. That is ofcourse because i'm not starting from scratch this time. As you can see on the pictures below, The design basics of the new frame are very similar to the Jellyfish. What you see here is a first raw printout of a complete frame, yet without camera mount.
I don't have the electronics yet that i intend to use in the new frame, so i based this first design version on measurements and pictures that i found online. An alienwhoop zero board proved to be useful aswell since its form factor is similar to what i want to use.

In short:

-new frame is slightly bigger than a Jellyfish (77 by 77mm compared to 70 by 70mm) but its vertical size is alot smaller.
-battery is tucked away inside the frame while a Jellyfish has its lipo above the FC. TinyWhoop-style stick lipo's can also be used again without looking ridiculous😁
-FC will be mounted with nylon nuts 'n bolts (M2?). Holes are easier to print, no drilling necessary and no fiddly screws. Abit heavier, but the lightweight electronics that i intend to use should make up for that.
-Weight for now is 4.9 grams WITHOUT camera mount. Jellyfish has 4.5 grams WITH camera mount. I should be able to shave off some weight when development progresses.

I have no name yet for this little guy.. The fact that the whole animal kingdom is allready represented in this hobby doesn't make it any easier. Suggestions are welcome!

Robby

13/04/2022

Hello people!

My Jellyfish frame design is 2 years old allready! Time sure goes fast..
I have been keeping an eye on the evolution of electronics involved in micro drones.
Unfortunately, with what is available today i am not yet able to create a well performing 45mm low profile version of the Jellyfish with a smaller vertical size...
I could continue the waiting game. Or i could see what i can do with what is available today, shelving the 45mm-ambitions for now.

The recent release of the new Betafpv "+"shaped FC has put me back at the drawing table. While 45mm is still not possible, adding 10mm to that changes the whole story.

On my wishlist is a frame that is:
1: a brushless pushpropper
2: easy to print
2: 55mm
3: 99% unobstructed airflow (except for some wiring and frame parts)
4: a much lower profile than the Jellyfish, at the cost of a 10mm larger wheelbase, hence the 55mm

Electronics involved:
- Betafpv F4 ELRS "+" shaped board
- TBS Unify pro32 nano VTX
- Tiny Whoop pinch camera (or a worthy alternative)
- Brushless motor and 31mm props

Let the games begin.. Stay tuned for updates!
Robby

19/12/2021

Hello people!
After about 2 years of operation, i have decided to discontinue my Jellyfish website www.fpv-jelly.fish because i feel that it has served its purpose by now.
The website will be available until the 15th of januari 2022. After that, it will be offline.

Ofcourse, this does NOT mean that the Jellyfish 45mm frame has been erased from existence!
Those who want to explore micro-fpv power in a frame that is today's absolute limit in terms of size, will still be able to print, build and fly a Jellyfish!

The Jellyfish frame 3D print files will remain available at Thingiverse:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4138023
The Jellyfish written manual will remain available at Rotorbuilds:
https://rotorbuilds.com/build/21761
And the Jellyfish video manual will remain available on Youtube:
https://youtu.be/r_eB0VTHJ1w

And ofcourse, you can always contact me through Facebook if you have any questions. :)

New projects? Well, not yet. I'm still waiting for that "surge of inspiration" to get me started on something new. Also, for the moment i'm pretty happy with my Jellyfish design. It proved to be what i wanted it to be: easy to print yet reasonably durable!

I'd love to design an even smaller frame tho.. Unfortunately technology, or at least that what is available on the market today, does not allow me to do so. Electronics seem to improve in quality and function, but size remains the same. As long as that persists, 45mm is the absolute minimum!

I wish you all happy holidays and a good start of 2022!

Update! The 3D print file for an adapter for 16 x 16mm flight controllers has been added on the Jellyfish Thingiverse page. 16 x 16mm stacks are now usable with a Jellyfish! Shout out to Tobias (Apocalypsedude on RCgroups) who designed this mod. :) Last friday (31/01/2020), after almost a year of dr...

03/12/2020

Hello people!

I have decided to stop hosting my Foamdrones website at www.foamdrones.be due to the very limited traffic it gets and the subscription costs for keeping it online. The website will go offline in januari 2021.

Need the manual for my Baby Turtle or Minimus 45 frame kits? pm me!

The website that covers my Jellyfish 45mm frame design is not affected and will remain online next year! https://www.fpv-jelly.fish/

In the meantime... I'd love to design an even smaller frame, but im gonna need lighter electronics and smaller propellers! The Jellyfish is literally on the limit for now ! Surely i could trim propellers to a smaller size, but performance would ofcourse be greatly affected if weight remains the same. Any hint in the right direction is greatly appreciated!

Robby