Great video, I have the original quick release and it's an essential part of my rig. I do a have few questions. Probably common sense, but just to outline, I see this product as having to serve 2 core functions. The first is to hold the prop onto the hub/motor. I don't think anyone could dispute the design is very effective at that. The second function is it has to hold the prop "pieces" together against centrifugal forces during operation. With the shorter pins on the outside plate, and not having full penetration of the pins through the entire prop a lot of people are going to have questions about this. You have addressed a lot of them in this video and you have probably already combed over all of that and answered a ton of questions offline and internally. So my apologize if I am retreading old territory. - Have you done a FEA on the whole system to see where the stresses do start to develop? would be useful to know where the points of failure would come from even if there are several multiples of safety factor. - The holding force test demonstrated in the video effectively is pulling the prop in a rotational motion and looking for slip. The numbers on that are impressive. I am curious if any of that changes when pulling straight out. Have you tested pulling straight out, i.e. to simulate the centrifugal the prop blade experiences in actual full RPM? In particular the outer prop half which is supported by the smaller pins and the overall clamping force. The design seems robust, surface area contact is king, but it would be good piece of mind to know the "puzzle prop" isn't going to throw a blade in actual use. - Is there any developmental possibility to implement a torquing mechanism into the handle? I.e. as you tighten it, it will slip once the desired torque is achieved. Think the gas-cap on your car (or most anyhow). This will help ensure it isn't over or under torqued, that is unless that particular mechanism wears and becomes compromised. - does anything change with any of the above (and in video) with a 3 (or more) bladed props where there are effectively more pieces that have to be held together. Anyhow, like I said, I have the original and it is a well designed and essential piece of kit that I use every time out at the field. Being able to quickly remove the prop if I need to tend to the engine is a huge safety and convenience benefit, So thank you for innovating in this sport!
a torque limiting clutch mechanism is interesting. Without any research I'd assume they could be made to be quite wear-resistant, but maybe in this application a mechanism like that would have problems (no clue) and obviously if the failure mode is catastrophic that would be a dealbreaker... Worth noting that it's still totally worth buying as is. I use regular prop bolts right now and obviously those aren't torque limiting either.....
Hey Tom, good questions. To address your first point, there are features on both sides that hold all the pieces together. There is a cylinder in the center of the hub on both sides and pins on both sides. There are quite a lot of problems doing analysis. First, not only are different props completely different structure but also the same prop manufacturer has multiple different types and different generations of their propeller. For example, E-Props has changed quite drastically over the last few years. There are simply too many variations and we don't know what type of carbon and how many layers are used. In fact, we don't even know what blend of fabric Helix uses because it isn't carbon fiber. The only reasonable test we could think of would have to be destructive with a press (and using multiple propellers). We would love to do it but it will take time and a lot of propellers that will need to be destroyed for the occasion. Is it a good idea? Yes, absolutely. Is it useful? probably. Is it practical? Currently, no. There are several ways to implement a torque limiting device, however, none that I am aware of can be done in a cost-effective way in terms of manufacturing. Can we do it? Yes, of course. Would anyone buy a $500 Quick Release? Probably not. The other thing about this is that we really want to know if the torque is TOO LOW and not too high. Again, there are ways to do that too but we haven't come up with one that is cost-effective in such a small market. We will continue to implement more and more changes to all of our products (especially quick releases) to improve safety factors as we continue to develop them and learn new things.
I've really enjoyed watching the development of this product through the tube and social med. Its a great example of a fantastic product. I found this when I started to explore the idea of becoming a pilot and if this wasn't in the market I would have made one. Do you ship to UK? Have a few guys that would appreciate not breaking their props while putting their stuff in the back of their Minis. hated putting that in caps. Not just a space saver but having the ability to keep your prop safe, your cage and motor are tuff buggers, your props a bit more on the, needs an eye. Well done, hope to use this product soon
Great video, I have the original quick release and it's an essential part of my rig.
I do a have few questions. Probably common sense, but just to outline, I see this product as having to serve 2 core functions. The first is to hold the prop onto the hub/motor. I don't think anyone could dispute the design is very effective at that. The second function is it has to hold the prop "pieces" together against centrifugal forces during operation. With the shorter pins on the outside plate, and not having full penetration of the pins through the entire prop a lot of people are going to have questions about this. You have addressed a lot of them in this video and you have probably already combed over all of that and answered a ton of questions offline and internally. So my apologize if I am retreading old territory.
- Have you done a FEA on the whole system to see where the stresses do start to develop? would be useful to know where the points of failure would come from even if there are several multiples of safety factor.
- The holding force test demonstrated in the video effectively is pulling the prop in a rotational motion and looking for slip. The numbers on that are impressive. I am curious if any of that changes when pulling straight out. Have you tested pulling straight out, i.e. to simulate the centrifugal the prop blade experiences in actual full RPM? In particular the outer prop half which is supported by the smaller pins and the overall clamping force. The design seems robust, surface area contact is king, but it would be good piece of mind to know the "puzzle prop" isn't going to throw a blade in actual use.
- Is there any developmental possibility to implement a torquing mechanism into the handle? I.e. as you tighten it, it will slip once the desired torque is achieved. Think the gas-cap on your car (or most anyhow). This will help ensure it isn't over or under torqued, that is unless that particular mechanism wears and becomes compromised.
- does anything change with any of the above (and in video) with a 3 (or more) bladed props where there are effectively more pieces that have to be held together.
Anyhow, like I said, I have the original and it is a well designed and essential piece of kit that I use every time out at the field. Being able to quickly remove the prop if I need to tend to the engine is a huge safety and convenience benefit, So thank you for innovating in this sport!
a torque limiting clutch mechanism is interesting. Without any research I'd assume they could be made to be quite wear-resistant, but maybe in this application a mechanism like that would have problems (no clue) and obviously if the failure mode is catastrophic that would be a dealbreaker...
Worth noting that it's still totally worth buying as is. I use regular prop bolts right now and obviously those aren't torque limiting either.....
Hey Tom, good questions. To address your first point, there are features on both sides that hold all the pieces together. There is a cylinder in the center of the hub on both sides and pins on both sides. There are quite a lot of problems doing analysis. First, not only are different props completely different structure but also the same prop manufacturer has multiple different types and different generations of their propeller. For example, E-Props has changed quite drastically over the last few years. There are simply too many variations and we don't know what type of carbon and how many layers are used. In fact, we don't even know what blend of fabric Helix uses because it isn't carbon fiber.
The only reasonable test we could think of would have to be destructive with a press (and using multiple propellers). We would love to do it but it will take time and a lot of propellers that will need to be destroyed for the occasion. Is it a good idea? Yes, absolutely. Is it useful? probably. Is it practical? Currently, no.
There are several ways to implement a torque limiting device, however, none that I am aware of can be done in a cost-effective way in terms of manufacturing. Can we do it? Yes, of course. Would anyone buy a $500 Quick Release? Probably not. The other thing about this is that we really want to know if the torque is TOO LOW and not too high. Again, there are ways to do that too but we haven't come up with one that is cost-effective in such a small market.
We will continue to implement more and more changes to all of our products (especially quick releases) to improve safety factors as we continue to develop them and learn new things.
This is very interesting and especially the fact that you’re manufacturing, you’re designing para power motor Equipment.
I've really enjoyed watching the development of this product through the tube and social med. Its a great example of a fantastic product. I found this when I started to explore the idea of becoming a pilot and if this wasn't in the market I would have made one. Do you ship to UK? Have a few guys that would appreciate not breaking their props while putting their stuff in the back of their Minis. hated putting that in caps. Not just a space saver but having the ability to keep your prop safe, your cage and motor are tuff buggers, your props a bit more on the, needs an eye. Well done, hope to use this product soon
Hey Graham, feel free to reach out to us direct. We do have a couple of importers in the UK!
"What is a Quickie?" (Giggity). Its great stuff, I know that. Love mine
In more ways than 1😂
TLDW; it's sick