Guide

LynxmotionUAV
ElectronicConfiguration
B) Propeller (“Prop”) Balancing
Notallpropellersaremadeperfectly,especiallythosewhicharemadeusinginjectionmolded
plastic.Thesepropellersmaynotbeperfectlybalancedandcanhavemoreweightononeside
thantheother.Anunbalancedpropellerwillleadtovibrationinthemotor,whichistransferredto
theframeandultimatelytotheelectronicsandsensors.Ifthesensorsarereceivingerratic
information,thedronewillnotflyaswellasitcould.
MagneticPropBalancer(propellerfitsbetweenVsectionsasonright)
Apropbalancerisideal;thesearesimple,relativelyinexpensivedeviceswhichallowyour
propellertoturnfreelyaboutitscentersoyoucanseeifonesideweighsmorethantheother.If
youdonothaveone,areallyinexpensivewayofbalancingapropelleristoplaceanailthrough
thecenterholeofthepropellerandbalancethetopandbottomofthenailsothatthepropelleris
horizontal.Whenyouletgo,ifthepropellerstaysperfectlyhorizontal,itmeanstheweightof
eitherbladeisidenticalandthepropellerisbalanced.Howeverifonesidedrops,thatmeansthe
sidewhichhasfallenweighsabitmorethantheotherandthepropisnotbalanced.Twothings
canbedonetobalancetheprop:
1. Addalittlebitofweighttothelighterside.Thiscanbeintheformofasmallpieceofclear
Scotchtape.Ifyourequireseveralpieces,it’sbesttoevenlydistributethetapeto
minimizetheeffectonthepropeller’sprofile.
2. Usesandpapertoremoveweightfromtheheavierside.It’simportanttonotethatyou
shouldONLYremoveweightontheundersideoftheprop,closesttothecenter(this
minimizestheeffectontheaerodynamics.
NOTE:Neverremoveweightfromtheendsofthepropormodifytheleadingortrailingedge.