Welded vs clamped motor mounts

I clamp and since threadlocking the bolts, it doesn’t go anywhere!!

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I use welded mounts and lets nust say they do not have a easy life. Its really beat up but i have never had it fail or even have to maintnece it. I got a great deal with the price and mount plus welding.

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Wow, how do you solder the trucks with the alu part ? I tried to do it with a flame and ended up completely melting both parts…

I heard if the mount breaks its usually from the truck also snapping at the weld joint?

@Patate Use a smaller flame mate…

@wmj259 I have never snapped a truck with a weld on mount. however I have snapped a few braze ons. I re brazed a few but I have moved to MIG welder now. I never broken a MIG join

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Okay thanks for the tip :slight_smile:

I’m working on my first build, I’d prefer to not have to buy new trucks, and do it as cheap as possible. I was looking at some of the ebay motor mounts but the problem is my trucks are about 21mm then taper to smaller as they go towards the middle, which is unlike most i’ve seen. Any hints/tips/suggestions? http://shop.mbs.com/36590-navigator-drone-trucks-190mm-50-degree-set-of-2.html

You got 2 options.

Machine down that taper. Or Buy different trucks.

I personally like to weld them and just forget about them !

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We use a helicoil insert in our motor mounts to ensure the bolts stay torqued no matter what. No need for loctite or other threadlocker.

How much would machining down the trucks affect the strength of them? A snapped truck doesn’t sound like much fun

The strength of the truck comes from the axle not that aluminium hanger. So you should be fine to machine them down as thin as the thinnest part… i mean its already that thin anyway so you cant make it any weaker.

Just to be clear, the hanger is what’s referred to as a ‘reinforcing substrate’ in the fastener/machining area. It spreads force/stresses across a larger part of the axle than would happen without it. I don’t know the exact percentage as hangers don’t have incredibly tight tolerances, but I would guess it’s about a 20% increase in overall strength. Depending on how much of the hanger you remove you will decrease that value.

But you cant possibly decrease the strength more than the thinnest part.

here’s a picture to illustrate what I mean

You can decrease the stress by adding a fillet from the edge of the hangar down to the axle, with still a flat edge to hold the bearing. Otherwise either by making the axle thicker Or making the hanger longer. Or better materials.

Correct, but you can loose a portion of the increase the hanger offers.

I’m not sure it matters, just wanted to chime in and see what others had to say. I’ve always managed to find a way to NOT cut into the hanger because I didn’t want to risk a snapped axle.

@lowGuido @barajabali I have the same question as @trbt555 ; what welding tools do you use? Aluminum brazing? MIG? the “stick” style?

I use a MIG. obviously TIG would be the best but I don’t have access to one.

Where are you guys getting the weld in mounts? Making them yourselves or purchasing? I know Dexter USD to have some. I’d love to get a couple and get them welded in my Paris v2’s.