Master Airscrew prop failure!

[Torque]

In one of your photos, the screw head(s) look a little bit like they are rusty. Have you had them out in the rain? Possibly it is just what it looks like on my screen. I saw them and immediately thought the heads looked like they may be rusty, but I can't imagine you would be flying with rusty screw heads or that you would even let that happen. No accusation, but just a thought that came to mind when I saw a photo you had made available.

I can't imagine how rusted a screw would have to be to just snap? I would think that much moisture would ruin the electronics before a screw rusted through. But no, the screws are not rusted, and though I live in Seattle, I have never flown a drone in the rain. Oh wait. I did buy one of Phantom Rain's wet suits for one of my Phantoms and flew it a few times in light sprinkles years ago, but no, this little drone has not been wet.

 

[PeteTheJack]

the screws that keep the props from becoming detached from the motors on the MIni 3 are extremely small ,unlike the screws on the MM and mini 2, which not only acted as a pivot point for the props as well, as holding them onto the motor
because of their small size, they are very easy to over torque when tightening them up, once the head of the screw bottoms out then it is tightened sufficiently to hold the prop, any additional torque will just add stress, to the junction between the thread ,and the head of the screw ,

I know some companies that do aftermarket props have been in business longer than DJI have existed, and are highly regarded, but I'm inclined to stick with the DJI ones.

 

[Torque]

I heard back from MAS. They have refunded the cost of the 3 sets of props I purchased. I really appreciate their reply:


Thank you for the feedback and sorry for the delayed reply.

I want to start by saying that tests were conducted on several occasions, most of them including intentional over screwing and breaking of the screws (ours and OEM ones) to assess their torque strength. Our engineers were not able to identify a general issue with the screws. However, management decided to further address the possibility of an issue and although such was not clearly present and the screws were upgraded to a new, additionally strengthened version.

We, at Master Airscrew, believe that DJI have made a mistake using the largely inappropriate screw size for this application. This is evident by them upgrading the screw (but keeping the blades the same) from M1.2 to M1.8 shoulder screw for the recently released Mini 3 Base version.

Now, regarding the problem you faced. Unfortunately there appears to be no easy way to remove such small screw shank from the thread holder. I’d assume that DJI service will replace the whole motor to fix the problem. As this is a time consuming effort incurring additional cost for you, I would like to at least offer a refund of you order MAS#111728, which I just did. I will also discuss with my managers if we can partially cover the cost of repair. Please let me know when you have the repair bill.

I want to assure you that our customers' satisfaction has always been our top priority and we would do all we can to eliminate any bitter experience you may have had with our products.

 

[Anthony Ivory]

Yeah those small screws from MAS snap really easily if you overtighten, leaving the broken shaft stuck in the motor which is impossible to get out. I’ll stick with DJI props.

Amen Drones don’t fly with poor props. You don’t put retreads tires on your car do you? Then why do people put cheap stuff on a drone that cost more than 100 times a good pair of props. The quality of the products coming from China has gone to HELL since COVID lock downs over there. Look up the story of the REAL Mc Coy.

 

[Torque]

Amen Drones don’t fly with poor props. You don’t put retreads tires on your car do you? Then why do people put cheap stuff on a drone that cost more than 100 times a good pair of props. The quality of the products coming from China has gone to HELL since COVID lock downs over there. Look up the story of the REAL Mc Coy.

Master Airscrew manufactures their props in California.
Many would argue they are superior to DJI's props.
The fault in this case is the small screw DJI opted for, which has been problematic for the stock props as well.
MAS's upgraded screw on the new props they sent is a noticeable improvement.

 

[Twin City Aerial]

I own a drone repair business and I have had many Mini 3 Pros come in with broken screws in the motors and have had to replace the arm. The latest one I fixed the 2 right arms on it and the customer asked me to replace all the props with the Master Air Screw propellers they provided, the first 2 screws I put in the new motor broke off with very little tightening so I will have to replace the arm again. I have also had customers who crashed their Mini # Pros with the DJI props and screws on and have damaged nothing but the propellers and screws so the arm had to be replaced anyway. Wish I had a way to get the broken screws out, it would save a lot of time and money for people.

 

[Twin City Aerial]

Amen Drones don’t fly with poor props. You don’t put retreads tires on your car do you? Then why do people put cheap stuff on a drone that cost more than 100 times a good pair of props. The quality of the products coming from China has gone to HELL since COVID lock downs over there. Look up the story of the REAL Mc Coy.

Lol, the DJI drone comes from China.

 

[Twin City Aerial]

Thank you, I agree. I reached out to Master Airscrew this morning, no response as of a few minutes ago.
MAS are the only after market props I would ever trust, I've been using them for over a decade, starting on fixed wing aircraft, then on my DJI Phantoms, 3DR drones, etc. I bought three pair for the M3P, and have asked MAS to let me return the two unopened packs even though they were purchased months ago. I will not be using them on the replacement M3P. The screws are the issue, not the props. I'm sure MAS will tell me I over tightened the screws, but I have been building things for over 50 years, I did not torque these tiny screws into the mounts! They were hand tight, nothing more.

I had same issue with MAS screws, they just broke right off when I tightened them with the slightest amount of pressure.

 

[Torque]

I had same issue with MAS screws, they just broke right off when I tightened them with the slightest amount of pressure.

The new "upgraded" screws MAS supplied with the new M3P props are more substantial and are holding up so far.
Yup, I'm flying with MAS again on the replaced Mini 3 Pro - time will prove if I'm a fool or MAS truly fixed the issue.

 

[pyrolator]

The new "upgraded" screws MAS supplied with the new M3P props are more substantial and are holding up so far.
Yup, I'm flying with MAS again on the replaced Mini 3 Pro - time will prove if I'm a fool or MAS truly fixed the issue.

How would I know that the Props I order are with new screws ?

 

[Torque]

How would I know that the Props I order are with new screws ?

MAS pulled all the faulty screws from the market. They only sell props with the new screws. Liability, etc.

 

[colorsone]

I used the original screws for the MAS props, should I exchange them for the ones that came with the MAS props?

 

[Torque]

I used the original screws for the MAS props, should I exchange them for the ones that came with the MAS props?

The Orginal DJI screws (dare not call them "OEM" lol) should be fine. Check them to make sure the remain tight before each flight, but don't over tighten. The original DJI screw were more substantial than the first batch that MAS sent with their props.