WARNING - EVO Hairline Cracks!!!!!

[witt]

I can't wait to get mine. A cracked cover is no deal breaker... BUT I did have a moment of doubt wondering how thick that cover was, and what it was attached to. I watched some of Franlacs youtube videos, and he flies so close to objects so confidently and smoothly that it actually made me more confident in the quality of the Evo. If a picture is worth a thousand words, that 4k video going down a wooded path is a testament... I'm still not going within a thousand feet of anything taller than grass for the first 30 days though.

Low flying takes the most SKILL...im still working on that..

 

[UnRanged]

Merci ... Thanks

I have been flying for 5 years and I am always very careful, I also had 2 X-Star just an accident ....
I dropped her hands!
I do not fly, if I do not feel good, and if there are people around me ..
it's nice to love my job.

It's not a job if you love it... But don't tell anyone, or they'll expect you to do it for FREE! I'm pretty sure I'll have some accidents. But they'll be Happy Accidents...

 

[deakbannok]

If possible try to 3d print

 

[Franlac]

If possible try to 3d print

i don't think so ??
it's very complicated

 

[mixchief]

I'm going to put the magnifying glass to mine, I have crashed when I had just started flying it, but all my inspections since have been good and Autel had the bird knowing I had a couple of mishaps and reported nothing

 

[mixchief]

thank goodness my EVO is perfect except for the scratches on the shell from landing on it's back after being hit by an SUV LOL

 

[Autelguy]

If this is a design flaw, let's hope Autel learns from it and on the next version, does the following:

1) Center the camera so that you don't get the left props in the shot

2) Re-position the camera so that you don't have to tilt down the camera to avoid props in video

3) Re-think that when folding in props they no longer scuff the top of the shell.

4) Uses better plastics to avoid fatigue fractures.

I'm still amazed that these things weren't considered prior to release.

 

[alekaras]

I'm wondering if the hairline cracks are the result of rough landings (mine lands very smoothly, the few times I have flown), or of unfolding the front arms quickly. I unfold them very gently, just in case.

 

[deakbannok]

i think is more user error. how do you transport your drone? do you keep it in the hard case? One thing most of us never thought of doing is... how do you change your battery? Do you or have you press the battery out when the drone is on its stands? I normally do with the drone placed firmly in my hand.

 

[Baldric]

I received my Evo on July 21st - one of the best days of my life! (Not kidding) First drone of this caliber. I've flown the Bugs 3 for the past couple years with Hero 4. Fun, but nothing like the Evo.

I have two batteries and have recorded every flight since receiving. I have a combined total of 127 flights. I have been cautious and taken risks. (i.e. flying 6 feet off the water over a lake about 1/2 mile long.) Some wonderful shots - like the sunrise on a couple of mountain lakes! The sun rising and full reflection on a mirror lake - WOW - where can you have that experience? - Oh yea, with high quality dependable drone!

One slight mishap - my fault, but nothing major and no damage.

So when I read this thread, I wondered about my bird. I checked with magnifying glass. No cracks, There were slight signs of wear where the arms touched their stops, but nothing that seems concerning.

Have had more fun than I ever could have imagined. There are some issues I wish were addressed, but cracks and wear don't seem to be a problem and I have had no problems - absolutely NONE - with falling out the sky or other major glitches. I do wish they would make all features available for the IOS, (quite frustrating I can't fly FPV. ), and can't wait till orbit and other features are actually valuable. But happy to give them time -

Love it and happy to support competitors.

That's my experience thus far.

 

[UnRanged]

Got mine yesterday... Late in the day of course. Unpacked everything and checked the shell before opening the spars. Appeared to be missing 1 prop from my EVO box. Sure enough, there are "bumps", right where Franlac said they would be. I'll keep an eye on those areas, but so far see no flexing in the spars that would cause it. It appears to be a manufacturers defect, almost as if the area is pinched when it's installed. Can't wait to fly this thing, and fortunately I have a very large 80x200 foot indoor space with 30 foot tall ceilings to do it in... YAY! I found my prop. Guess I tore into the boxes like that kid from A Christmas Story and tossed one of them with the bubble wrap.

 

[Pasechnik]

I have just noticed the same cracks on both sides of my Evo. I have never crashed it, always keep it inside my Nanuk 915 case.

This part of the plastic used to be flat but now I can see 2 small bumps with hairline cracks.

 

[DanielC]

Do you know about not pressing down on the drone when you change the battery? I did this several time when I first got the drone before someone pointed out the problem with it Is too much pressure on the legs.

 

[Catweazle]

Just noticed this post had ended with no conclusive comments of what may have been the cause. As there was more than one EVO affected, this raises questions.
> Did Autel ask for serial numbers to establish if it may have been a production batch problem.?
> How many EVOs are affected?
> Have they responded to the comlainants.
> Is it a design flaw that needed to be designed out of EVO2 ?

As a worse case scenario--When a drone or bits of it fall out of the sky into a neighbourhood and it is reported as a hit or near miss, it has the potential to become a minature Max 737 situation for the company with that drone model possibly being grounded.

 

[Ansia]

The hairline cracks in the black areas of the hull is a known issue. This part will not fall off the drone and it isn't a structural area, therefore your Evo will perform normally.

 

[xspwhite]

Disappointing to say the least. I was just looking at one of these drones on the marketplace today and the first thing the seller mentioned was that the antennas were busted off the remote controller. Not something I would buy.

 

[Autelguy]

I think all Evos have that bump on the arms. I just checked and I don't have any cracks. I never crashed but I'm wondering if this is a manufacturing design flaw where the plastic on or near these bumps are more prone. Has anyone called and spoke to Autel about this issue?

 

[Catweazle]

The arms are probably made from ABS plastic, which is quite strong and used in much array in an automobile. With the seam running along the arm i,m assuming that it has been injection molded.
The legs are FR, FL, RR and RL. They may have been molded from the same die, or the die could have be multi cavities.

My guess is that; if we are finding the lump or hair line crack in the same location on one particular leg, it may either be the result of an weak injection flow line, or a cavity inside the leg , possibly due to a batch being molded outside specified temperature and injection speed parameters.

My EVO is clear of this ATM. Would be good to know which leg and location where you have the crack and lump.

 

[Ansia]

Where are these bumps located?

 

[Catweazle]

Where are these bumps located?

After some inspection of my EVO under medium magnification, I found some similar marks. However, I,m inclined "at this point" to think they are not hairline cracks, but Injection mold die face marks.
I used an eraser to gently rub the area and one of the marks diminished considerably.

I have to attend an electronics client on 6th Feb who manufactures circuit boards. I will take the EVO with me and use their
you beaut very high resolution magnification lamp. Hope I may have some pics to post.

As for the lumps; what I feel are two identical lumps, one on each side, directly above the swivel of the front arms. I think the lumps are just inherent to the design that require the arms to lock.
Who knows, there maybe a molded hollow under the lump which coincides with a molded bead on each front leg that click locks the arm when opened.
If anyone has a pic of a removed front arm fitment, maybe we could have a valid reason for solving the mystery of the lumps.