I’ve seen a thousand posts looking for information on the 3D Robotics Iris+ motors and propellers. Hopefully this can be used as a reference.
T-Motors or Tiger Motors are the manufacturers of both the stock motors and the propellers.
Note: TLDR? Links at the bottom for buying.
Note: a lot of people tend to think of drones like cars or some other manufactured item. In many cases this is true: the engine of a Ford won’t fit into a Chevy. However, in the world of drones, many of them are assembled with various parts from various manufacturers. Read on.
Motors:
3DR chose the T-MOTOR MN2213. I linked to a special package on their site which as of this writing comes in a pack of 4 with 4 props. They don’t have a unique product page.
From GetFPV.com the pack is in stock and cost $46 without shipping. A pair of the T9545A props usually goes for around $10, so I’d say that’s a pretty good deal (no I don’t get anything from linking to them)!
You can find them under the 3DR brand, or under T-Motor just about everywhere. There are a lot of places selling the motors and props for ridiculous prices. Shop around. That deal from GetFPV can’t really be beat, though.
Propellers:
The Iris+ came stock with the T-Motor T9545A:
The “A” version comes with the self-tightening prop nut, which is removable. If you lost the nut you can also use a nut or other mounting mechanisms.
If you break an A version, save the nuts as you buy the “B” version for less and use them.
Modifications and Upgrades
The motor specs aren’t anything particularly special. There’s a good chance that there is something better on the market considering the speed at which this hobby continues to progress. All you need to do is match the mounting holes and the amperage ratings to match the ESC. 3DR did a great job with the ESC, the motors + props, and the battery. However, that was a million years ago in terms of this hobby. Beware of ESCs, however. There has been so much advancement with them in the past 2 years alone that they might not all be compatible with the Pixhawk (or, really, ArduCopter).
Here’s an article about using different propellers on the Iris and Iris+. It’s a good place to begin understanding the relationship between propellers, motors, and efficiency.
Here’s another article about swapping out different prop mounts on the stock motors. With a shaft diameter of 6mm you would need to find props of a similar length/pitch with a 6mm hole. However, you can buy bolt on shaft adapters for carbon fiber props and other props from different manufacturers with different lengths and pitches. It can get a little pricey, but what price is there on fun and performance?
If all my motors suddenly died I don’t think I would bother upgrading. I would buy the a pack of the motors + props and leave it at that.
At this point, I’m more interested in investing in batteries than I am squeezing another 2 or 3 minutes of flight time.
TIP: If you’ve ever had to replace a motor or a broken arm you already know what a huge PITA it is. For a few grams extra weight I am going to add bullet connectors to my Iris+ motors so I don’t have re-solder the motor leads to the ESC.
Let me know your thoughts below.
Update: added direct links:
US
UK
http://onedrone.com/store/iris-propeller-set.html