Revision IV
IMP Concepts 3DR Iris Retract Carbon Edition Installation Instructions
Introduction
The kit allows you to install a great set of retractable legs to your 3DR Iris Plus quadcopter. They can be
retracted by flicking a switch on your Transmitter and deployed in the same manner. They allow for
perfect camera shots without any legs in the frame(s).
Important Note: This upgrade does require the installer have good mechanical and electrical
skills. Please read this document thoroughly prior to ordering this Kit. All Part Numbers and
Product IDs are for HobbyKing.com and are highlighted in RED.
Tools Required:
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Set of Allen Keys to remove the covers from the Iris
Standard Philips and Regular Screwdrivers (Small)
Soldering Iron (Only needed if you do NOT already have a 5v UBEC installed)
Servo Tester & 4.8v Battery (Part Number TGY-ST) Any Servo Test will work.
Kit includes all Required Custom Printed Parts and assembled extended legs:
Includes the following Items:
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4 x Pre-Assembled Retract Legs with locating posts, Carbon Rods and Enhanced wide Feet
4 x Actuator Mounts with Tilt Spacers
12 x Wire Clips
Provided Parts Details:
Actuator Mounts & Tilt Spacers (x 4)
Servo Wire Retaining Clips (x12)
Optional Shaft Retaining Screws (x 8)
Generic Parts Required (Available From HobbyKing.com):
4 x Servoless Retract Actuators (Part Number: PZ-15094 or HK-15094M) Type: 15094 into the
Search screen at Hobbyking.com. Here is the link:
http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__42706__Electric_Retract_with_Reversable_Mount_and_
Metal_Trunnion_USA_warehouse_.html
They will look like this, it has a metal trunion. Please ensure NOT to get any debris inside the actuator.
The internal components will be damaged if the actuator does not move freely.
Note: The Trunions are threaded 3mm. 8 x M3x12mm shaft Screws are optional with our Kit. It is best to
install the screws once prior to final installation to make sure the thread is clean. We recommend using
the actuators with Metal Trunions.
Features, Specifications & Dimensions:
- Temperature range: -20°C∼60°C
- Operating voltage range: 4.5V-6V
- Overall dimensions: 55(L) * 32(W) * 2(H) * φ3mm
- Limit angle: 90°± 1°
- Item weight: 18g
- Support Flight Weight (Each) 2kg. (2.2 Pounds)
- Connector wire length: 7.2cm
Screws:
Legs come pre-fitted with carbon locating shafts. M3 x 12mm Cap Head Screws are optional in the kit.
You will need 8 screws.
8 x 3mm x 12mm x .50 threads Cap screws
These should NOT be over tightened as you can damage the carbon locating shaft. All legs are shipped
with 3mm clearance holes.
Note: We recommend using some Medium Strength Thread Locker on FINAL assembly to prevent
these from coming loose in flight.
16 x 1.5mm x 5mm Countersunk Head screws.
These are the tiny countersunk screws that come with the retract servos (These are used to hold the
stock mount that is discarded, they connect to the printed Arm mount mentioned above to the Servo, they
only fit on the 12.5mm x 12.5mm spaced side.
1 x custom made or commercial 4 to 1 Servo Splitter.
(See photos for examples of these) They are easily made from servo leads. You will need to make them
long enough to reach your receiver or flight Control unit. (The 4 servos connect to this to provide one RX
connection) There is no issue with power rating here as servo signals are just that, signals. Control
signals and VERY, VERY low current in the MicroAmps). We recommend using servo extensions with a
splitter hub or a 4 In 1 custom Splitter cable.
Example 4 – 1 Servo extension
Ordering servo extensions and a splitter is the easiest way to go. Here are the Hobbyking Parts &
numbers:
1 x Servo Splitter Lead 1 Female to 5 Male (Part Number/Product ID: 258000051
2 x 15cm (150mm) Servo Lead Extensions (Part Number/Product ID: AM1043-15CM
2 x 20cm (200mm) Servo Lead Extensions (Part Number/Product ID: AM1043-20-32
Note: you will need to remove the shrouds on the extensions as they will not fit into the Iris arms
when they are installed. This is easily done by inserting a screw driver into them from the wire
side and simply breaking them off, or pulling the insert out while the screw driver is in place.
Please refer to the following photos for clarification:
8 x 4” Zip Ties 2 per actuator mount (8 x Black)
1 x 3Amp UBEC (Part Number/Product Id: TR-UBEC)
Assembly and Installation
Test Installing the Actuator Mounts on the arms
Prior to installing the Actuators to the rail mounts, it is advisable to do a test fir without the actuators so
you can get the knack on installing and de-installing them on the Picatiny rail. Care should be taken when
installing and removing them as they are by design a tight fit. Please check the photos below. Use a wide
tool to carefully pry the mounts off the rail once installed. All mounts are tested and installed (Once) on a
sample rail prior to shipping. Please Note that the mounts will be less flexible once the actuators are
installed on them.
Test Installation:
Sample Mount Removal:
Installing the Actuator(s) on the arm mounts
You will need to remove the 4 tiny screws that that hold the actuators to the provided mounting plate,
please discard both mounting plates as we do not use them.
Install our arm mount to each actuator with the spacer so the actuator tilts slightly backwards (outboard
towards the motors. Use the screw holes with 12.5mm x 125mm Square hole spacing. Do not over
tighten the screws as you may strip the threads in the actuator. We have noticed that some actuators
come with only 3 out of the 4 screws, or that one of the threaded inserts is either not threaded or
damaged. This is OK as you only really need 2 opposing screws to hold them to the mounts securely.
“Tilt” Spacers Installed
You will need the retract legs to angle a little more outboard that perfectly straight due to the natural tilt of
the actuator trunion. For this we have provided a small tilt spacer. This must be installed between the
servoless actuator and the provide rail mount, so the actuator tilts slightly more outboard. Please install
as shown in the photo below.
Spacer can be clearly seen in this photo:
Mounting the Legs on the Servoless Actuators:
The shaft retraining screws in the side of the legs should float freely in the legs and not bind with the
plastic. You may need to ream the holes to fit the particular screws you are using, but this is unlikely as
the holes are pre-drilled to accept 3mm Screws.
Using a Servo Tester, exercise the actuators a few times to ensure correct functionality, and position the
shaft hole upwards as shown in the following photo:
You should be able to easily slide the legs onto the actuator as shown in the following photo:
Please do not over tighten the shaft retaining screws as they are designed to function correctly
with minimum force. Excess force may cause the actuators to strain and possibly damage them. If
the actuator motor gets hot please stop activating them until the cause is determined and
rectified. Fine tuning the fit by filing off excess plastic is sometimes needed for smooth operation.
It should be noted that actuators are not designed to run continuously back and forth, just when
needed. Do not forget the Medium Strength Thread Locker.
Installing the Actuators and Legs to the Iris Plus Arms
You can do this now or later, but it is easier to do if the legs are retracted. So after you have assembled
the legs and actuator you should use the servo tester to perform the following:
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Exercise the actuator and leg to ensure a smooth operation (5 cycles is enough)
Put the legs in their retracted position
The following photo shows the legs in their retracted positions:
Ensure the Leg and actuator assemblies install in the arms as shown in the following photo:
Note: Blue Legs are shown for clarification only all kits are provided with Black Legs and mounts.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
Please remember that 2 x 4” Cable Ties are a very important part of the installation. These MUST
be installed prior to flying and using your retractable legs. They are a very crucial to holding the
actuator mounting assembly onto the Iris’ arms during landings.
The Actuator mounts are designed to break off on hard landings and in case of a crash, the idea being is
they break before the arms do.
The correct mounting of the cable ies can be seen in this photo, there is one on each side:
UBEC for Power to the Retract servos
The Iris will need a UBEC of 3amps in order to power the Servos; we used a Turnigy 3a switching UBEC
powered directly from the battery. The gimbal power connector can be used also if desired.
Features:
• Over current and over heat protection.
• Switching frequency 300khz.
• 92% chip efficiency
• Noise reduction alloy housing
Specs:
Output: 5v/3A or 6v/3A (selectable)
Noise: <50mVp-p(@2A/12v)
Input: 5.5v-23v (2-5S Lipo pack, 5-15cells NiMh)
Size: 41.6x16.6x7.0mm
Weight: 7.5g
UBEC Installation
First the why?
Well the PixHawk 4in1 (bless its little heart") has an integrated low current power supply. (Legacy APM
Power Module) It claims to be ~1.5 Amps, but we would debate that. It is just about adequate for the
PixHawk itself. But for a traditional Servo, Parachute, Bomb Drop etc., forget it. It does not have enough
power to drive them. Let alone 2 or 4 retract servos. So why do it for a stock Iris? It helps & assists the
stock supply, and acts as a backup in case the stock supply goes pear shaped for any reason. One a
UBEC is installed, you can get 5v for your goodies from any spare PixHawk Port using the top 2 pins - * +
5v.
It is an easy install but does require some soldering skills. IOHO no drone/bot owner should be without
some basic soldering skills. Key tip, get a real soldering Iron, please do not use a red hot poker. Ideally a
temp controlled iron, NOT a Solder Gun! That is a Poker in disguise. A basic iron is good but you do need
one that will hit ~600*F.
Here are some brief install instructions and some photos of a completed installation:
1) Get yourself our 3amp UBEC. It can actually handle 5 Amps for a while
2) Make sure it is set to 5v NOT 6v, they are usually dual voltage, the default it 5v but it is worth checking
3) Locate the input and output wires Clue, the output has a ferrite core ring on it to limit interference.
4) The input should be black (ground or -ve) and Red (+12v)
5) Take the bottom and top covers off the Iris and disconnect them and put them to one side.
6) Turn the bot over; I have included a photo of a virgin Iris' belly parts as a reference. Virgin that is
except for our RC Light Switch that is (Not included)
7) See the battery input wires with the BIG blobs of solder holding them on to the 4in1, solder the
input wires directly to them, same colors black to black and Red to red. You should be able to tack them
on without melting the whole connection. (See Pics) We like to remove the closest ESC screw and put the
wires under the 4in1. This shows UBEC mounted alternatively on the underside. Mounting the UBEC
Either upstairs or downstairs is OK., it is really personal preference.
8) Run the wires to the top of the Iris, you may want to guestimate the length beforehand and run the
wires before you solder them on and decide on final resting place for your UBEC.
9) Turn your bot over. Find a spot for the UBEC and double sided tape it down. See our reference pic.
This shows the UBEC mounted upstairs as an alternate.
10) Plug the output connector usually 2 pin. into the Pixhawk Power Rail. Black to the top and Red to the
middle, bottom pin is empty. Use a slot such as 4 that has the 4in1 going to the bottom pins and there are
only 2 available - and + 5v. We are using slot 5 in the pic, but slots 1 - 4 only have 2 pins available, the
correct ones and it is less confusing. What you are actually doing here is putting the UBEC in Parallel with
the PixHawk’s Power rail.
11) That is pretty much it. Remember, you are NOT changing anything with respect to the Iris' functional
characteristics; you are adding 3amps of available current to use. Voltage is still 5v and should be.
For most installations, please use some cable retainers to secure the servo wires inside the channel of
the Iris’ arms. These are included with the retract Kit, additional ones can be purchased separately from
our web store. Please be careful NOT to pinch the servo wires during installation and observe the
correct color orientation (Orange is Signal, .Red is Power and Black is Ground or –ve). The colors
should line up on both the plug rom the PixHawk and the socket on the Retract actuator.
The legs and retract assemblies are not designed to take a REALLY hard landing, but then nor are the
Iris stock legs. We have dropped out test quads (under duress to test them) from about 1 ft. or so on
concrete and there were no ill effect other than the hard sound. We were trying to come up with a
dampener of some sort but perhaps some ¼” door draft foam glued to the leg bottom would work. But hey
we are supposed to land softly right and on grass or something. The servoless retracts are said to have
dampening qualities built in.
Now just set up your gear switch on your favorite radio and you are done.
This Link will give you an idea how to set up an ER9X Transmitter to use a switch on Channel 6 or
7.
http://www.communistech.com/how-to-configure-a-switch-for-ch8-on-the-iris-quad/
Mission Planner Settings:
Under Standard Parameters set channel 8 to be disabled, or to do nothing (as opposed to or instead of
Land, Simple Mode, Acro, etc.).
In the Gimbal Settings. If you have a 2 Axis Gimbal, "Roll - the top setting" will already set up with
channel 6 from the TX connecting to RC9 on the Pixhawk.
Use the next Gimbal Section (Tilt) to operate your legs.You may use 7 from the TX connected to RC11
from the Pixhawk. (Channel 7 can be connected to whatever switch on the TX you choose).
Lastly, you should have the "Pan" section of the Gimbal Settings set to disabled on both TX channel and
RC Channel.
Here is the reasoning. During manual modes, you are free to operate the retracts and to roll the camera
at will. During Auto mode, the Pixhawk tells the Iris how to conduct the mission after looking at its assets
(does it have a gimbal? Is the gimbal 3 axis with pan capability?). The gimbal section is what the Pixhawk
looks at. From there, when the Iris runs a mission, it believes it is rolling the camera and panning the
camera to keep the subject on screen. If you have Retracts or Lights connected to the Roll or the Pan
gimbal area, those will operate instead.
Example Gimbal Settings Using RC6 for the Retract Servos:
Extended Tuning Setup:
PixHawk Channel 8 Parameter Setup (When using Channel 8 to control the retracts):
We noticed that in 3.2 of Arducopter these parameters were set to odd numbers, probably for some other
Gimbal controls (3 Axis Perhaps or Shutter) we simply set them to another channels default settings.
Example Screenshots of and Iris TH9X Channel 8 Setup for Activating the Retracts
In this example, the Throttle Switch (THR & !THR) is being used. However any spare switch can be
assigned. Please refer to the TH9X Operation Manual for additional Information.
Important Servoless Actuator Mounting Bracket Information
The latest versions of the Servoless Actuator Mounts are designed to break loose on a hard impact or a
crash. This is because we do not want to damage the extended legs or the stock Iris arms. This feature is
purposely built into each mount. Replacements can be purchased very cheaply for existing customers.
When installing them for the first time they WILL be very tight, this is intentional. Please install them
without the actuator a couple of times to get the feel and to “Bed” them in. Slot one edge under the
Picatiny rail and with even force set it in place. You may want to offer it the first time without the Actuator
installed to see how it fits. The extended base goes towards the motor side as shown in the photo below.
We have added some additional support with the addition of holes in each mount for 2, nylon zip ties, 2
per mount. These are very stealthy too and you would really need to look closely to see them, especially
if you use black ties. We highly recommend using these zip ties to provide extra support.
The mounts should be installed and removed a minimal times as possible after the initial “bedding in” as
they are not designed to be put on and off repeatedly. They are purposely tight. If however you do
remove them a lot and they may get a little looser, however, you can use the zip ties to keep them
secure.
The photo below shows the mount with a zip tie in place:
Complete Kit of Parts Needed to Complete the Installation (UBEC is NOT Shown)
Iris Retracts Installed Sample Photos:
Go and enjoy your IMP Concepts Stealth Retract system.
Web site: www.impconcepts.com/impstore
Email: promo@impconcepts.com
RCGroups Handle: “The ShokWaveRider”