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Material: Most cradles in this web site are made of aluminum. 1mm thick plates and profile of various sections are used according to different mechanical parts: |
 aluminum profile |
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It is important to notice that square and circular section profile fit together perfectly, what is very useful to make sliding axis with minimum play. Aluminum parts assembly is made with 2.4 or 3.2mm rivet, or 2 to 3mm screws. As aluminum is easy to bend, this capability is used as often as possible. |
 bent aluminum |
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Cradle body: For reliability purpose, we put mechanical and electronic parts of our cradles in a closed housing. This housing is the body of the cradle, to which other mechanical parts of the cradle are attached. |
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6mm axis is maintained with 2 ball bearings. Servomotor and axis are coupled with PVC pipe. Battery connectors are entirely part of the housing. |
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Motorization: Motors in our cradle are usually R/C servos. When more than 180° rotation is necessary, 2 solutions are possible: We use the second solution to simplify mechanical aspects by making possible a direct coupling of the axis with the servo. A detailed procedure to customize servos is available in the Kite Aerial Photography Page. Warning: for some servos, customization is not possible: either the internal gear of the servo doesn't have 360° teeth, or the internal potentiometer is used as an axis and can't be removed. If you look for a customizable servo, you can choose the miniature Hitec HS 85 MG+, modifiable in a few minutes. |   servos fixing |
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Battery coupling: Battery coupling is often a problem: faulty connections, broken wires... To resolve this problem, we build custom battery connectors integrated into the cradle housing. These connectors are based on springs fastened on a piece of epoxy with a rivet. |  CRP2-DL223 coupling |  AA battery coupling |
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Suspension pin system: To limit the size of the suspension system, we implement a pin system as shown on pictures to take down the system and ease its storage. Aluminum profile are 6mm and 8mm section. Screws are 2.5mm in diameter. |  pin assembly |
 male part |  female part |
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