Has anybody ever had this happen to them, or know what has caused this?
How did that happen? Where was it installed? I’m not sure what kind of plastic it’s made of, but it would probably need to be 100C+ to soften like that.
I’m almost certain there’s no reasonable scenario where it would start melting if left outside in sunlight. It had to have been left inside some enclosure that got very hot.
It is inside a waterproof container that is inside the craft.
Does it share that container with the Cube? If so, flight logs would have baro/IMU temperature data that would show if it’s getting too hot in there.
The GPS module itself shouldn’t really generate any heat. I guess you could plug it in for a while and see if it gets hot - if so, then there’s something wrong. Otherwise, it must be getting baked inside that container either by the sun or by some electronics like BECs or ESCs.
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I’m pretty sure the plastic is polycarbonate, which shouldn’t deform until well above 100C. Any temperature that could melt the plastic would be unsafe for the electronics anyways (they’re usually rated for 80C max during operation).
The case of the Here GPSS is ABS plastic which is the most common material used for these types of applications.
The other common material is HDPE but I just checked and the GPS housing is ABS, maybe fibre reinforced but I didn’t want to hack off a large enough piece to check that.
Softening (plastic) temp of ABS is around the 170degC to 190degC
This is easily achieved in direct sunlight under a clear cover in a closed environment.
Think dashboard of a car in summer.
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