Homemade drone. What you need to assemble a quadrocopter with your own hands, step-by-step assembly Do-it-yourself unmanned aerial vehicles

To assemble a quadcopter with your own hands at home, you must first understand the basic components of a quadcopter.

Parts for assembling a quadcopter

Diatone Q450 Quad 450 V3 PCB Quadcopter Frame Kit 450mm It is the body of the aircraft, which will be used for mounting all other equipment and electronic stuffing. They consist of 4 beams and a printed circuit board. Weight 295 grams.
banggood.com
Price 922 rubles.
Motor DYS D2822-14 1450KV Brushless Motor. 4 pieces.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 571 rubles / piece
DYS 30A 2-4S Brushless Speed Controller ESC Simonk Firmware for RPM control and speed control. 4 pieces.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 438 rubles / piece
Propellers DYS E-Prop 8x6 8060 SF ABS Slow Fly Propeller Blade For RC Airplane, 4 pieces. Two right-hand rotation propellers and two left-hand rotation propellers.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 125 rubles / piece
Quadcopter control module KK2.1.5 kk21evo. 1 PC.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 1680 rubles
Turnigy nano-tech 2200mah 4S ~90C Lipo Pack lithium-polymer battery, you need to cook at least two pieces, and four is better, because they sit down quickly. 1 PC.
Sold in the online store Parkflyer.ru
Price 1268 rub/piece
Hobby King Variable6S 50W 5A battery charger. 1 PC.
Sold in the online store Hobbyco.ru
Price 900 rub
Battery Connector XT60 Male Plug 12AWG 10cm With Wire. 1 PC.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 144 rubles
Clamps for fixing wires on the body of the quadrocopter. 1000pcs 2.0x100mm Black/ White Nylon Cable Ties Zip Ties. 1 package.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 316 rubles
Connectors 20 Pairs 3.5mm Bullet Connector Banana Plug For RC Battery / Motor. For regulator wires. 1 package.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 256 rubles
Velcro tape for attaching the battery to the body of the quadcopter. 1 PC.
Sold in the online store Banggood.com
Price 79 rub
50pcs Motor Fixing Screws Set for DJI F450 F550 HJ450 550 Quadcopter Multicopter. 1 package.
Price 217 rubles
Remote control quadrocopter Spektrum DX6 V2 with AR610 Receiver. The transmitter and receiver are included in one set. 1 PC.
Price 9700 rub

The total set of equipment for assembly will cost 20018 rubles.

Features when choosing components

Basic characteristics of the transmitter:

Modes Mode1 or Mode2. In the first mode, the throttle stick is on the right, in the second mode, the throttle stick is on the left.
The transmitter frequency is 2.4GHz.
Number of channels. The minimum number of channels required to control the aircraft is four. Control equipment from Spektrum DX6 V2 with AR610 Receiver contains 6 channels.

DIY step-by-step instructions for assembling a quadrocopter

Reduce the length of the wires on the regulators. When connecting the regulator to the motors, the length of the wires will significantly exceed the length of the beam on which this entire structure will be attached.
We solder the connectors to the ends of the wires on the regulator so that in the future you can connect the regulator to the motors.

We make installation of engines - we screw on 1 engine for each beam.
We assemble the frame. We screw the rays to the board.

We connect the wires of the regulators to the engines. The controller and motor cables are connected randomly. In the future, it may be necessary to change the connection order in the final configuration of the drone. When using dedicated regulators for each motor, the positive and negative poles must be connected to the controller, coming from only one regulator.
We fix the control module on the case with double-sided tape. It is best placed in the central part of the platform.

We fix the receiver on the case with double-sided tape and connect it to the control module. The receiver should be located as close to the module as possible.

Channel assignment is described in the receiver manual. Usually their sequence is as follows:
1. Ailerons - a channel responsible for left and right turns;
2. Elevator - a channel that controls forward and backward directions;
3. Gas is a channel that controls gas. Supervises takeoff and landing, as well as altitude changes;
4. Yaw - the channel makes it possible to rotate the quadrocopter around its axis.
We power the device. We connect the battery to the connector.

This operation completes the assembly process of the quadcopter.

Adjustment

We start engines. Activation of the motors requires the execution of the process of starting the motors - arming. The user manual explains in detail how to achieve this. Deactivation of engines requires a disarming procedure.
We turn on a weak gas and make sure that the motors rotate. The nature of rotation must be the same as indicated in the diagram in the manual for the controller. If the motor rotates incorrectly, you just need to swap the poles of the wires going from the motor to the controller.
We screw the second platform to the body of the quadrocopter.
We connect a tape with Velcro to the case for attaching the battery.

Do-it-yourself quadcopter assembly on arduino

Conclusion

Self-assembly of a quadrocopter can only be done by those who like solving complex problems. These should be people who enjoy the progress of various calculations and the process of assembling the device.
The advantage of a do-it-yourself copter is that you can upgrade it at any time by adding new equipment.

The quadric can hang in one place and take photos and videos, which is why many photographers keep up with the progress and buy quadrocopters for video shooting.

Quadcopters burst into our lives along with technological progress. Today, ordering electronics for a quadrocopter from China is very cheap. Assembling a quadrocopter frame with your own hands from improvised materials is not at all difficult. You can learn how to fly with the help of flight simulators. So the main thing is the desire to make a quadrocopter with your own hands.

It is best to buy ready-made electronics for a quadrocopter.

Details of a homemade quadrocopter

Quadcopter motors, 4 pcs - D2822/14 1450kv

Of course, the additional purchase of a small quadcopter is a little expensive, but by flying on this one you will learn how to control and be able to fly a large quadcopter with a camera without falling! A small toy can always be given to a child.

And finally, a small video of the flight on a quadrocopter, recording from the camera.

In this article, we looked at the basic principles of making homemade quadcopters. If you want to know more, see the section

iskra comments:

how to make a quadcopter so that it flies within a radius of 500 meters with a real-time camera that displays the image on the screen

chelovek comments:

Guys help!
I want to assemble a quadric on the arduino mega platform using these components:

Before starting to make a drone, there was a choice of which flying model to take as a basis: a quadcopter or an airplane? Since I played enough with copters in my time, I know their main disadvantage: most often the flight time is 10-20 minutes. For me personally, this is very small, so it was decided to take the aircraft as a basis.

I chose Bixler 2 as an aircraft, it has a lot of advantages, namely:

indestructibility
Wingspan (1.5m)

Now it's up to the autopilot. The Raspberry PI B+ with the NAVIO board, on which the sensors we need are located, is taken as the “brains”:

GPS\GNSS
accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
pressure sensor for altitude calculation
4-channel ADC
16-channel PWM generator
FRAM, non-volatile memory
RGB LED
PPM input

Perhaps many have heard, but someone managed to try out ArduPlane. This is an open source copter/airplane/rover autopilot project. Fortunately, the EMLID team that developed the NAVIO board made a port of ArduPlane on the Raspberry PI. So all that is needed is to clone the repository and compile the whole thing on raspberry, then attach our autopilot to the plane - and go.

We mount our autopilot to the plane:

Here I ran into problems: there was very little space, I had to abandon the standard cockpit that came with the plane, and make a new cockpit out of an empty Coca-Cola eggplant, painting it silver. It turned out that it looks much better than the standard one.

To be honest, it didn't work out the first time. Since I could launch the plane only on weekends and the weather was not always smiling, a month and a half passed from the moment when I had the plane ready to the first successful launch.

I flew in stabilization mode: if you do not move the levers on the control panel, then the plane aligns itself and flies in a straight line. The next step will be a flight to GPS points with a pre-laid route.

Now, perhaps, someone will be interested in the price of the issue. So:

Bixler 2 - $90 (without remote control, I had it)
2600mAh battery - $50
Raspberry Pi B+ (sd card) - $45
NAVIO - $149

In total, I got $ 334 for the whole set, ready to fly. Someone will say that it is expensive and, perhaps, they will be right. However, I consider this to be a gift, given that I have a flying Linux, to which I can connect a 3G modem and change the flight path wherever there is Internet coverage.

The creation of unmanned aerial vehicles has recently become not only of interest to government agencies, but has also become incredibly popular in the lives of ordinary citizens. Moreover, for their modeling you can find everything you need in every decent specialized store. Professional assemblers of such devices even have their own terms, they can be found on the website http://dronomania.ru/slovar.html.

True, this pleasure is not cheap, and sometimes its price, if it is assembled according to the latest “peep” of technology today, can reach the cost of a decent iPhone. This article will step by step consider all types of work and give some recommendations so that your flying object can rush up, and you can control it from a decent distance. Also, the story will talk about where and what parts you need to purchase to implement the plan - modeling and manufacturing a drone.

How to make the right choice of aircraft

When you come to the store, do not rush to choose the aircraft model you like, but weigh all the pros and cons and by all means think about what you want to install on this model. If you want to equip it with a camera and fly in the so-called "first person", then take advantage of such an interesting offer as an electric model. A drive powered by electricity is always easier to maintain than, for example, the same, but running on gasoline. Its assembly will generally be devoid of complexity, and it can be done at home and not even get your hands dirty.

But if the plans are quite long flights (60 minutes or more) and flights that will take place at a considerable height, then you already need a glider or something like it. For fast-flying nimble models, it is quite suitable as an acquisition of a model whose wing areas are small, and the schemes are built based on aerodynamic parameters and a tailless appearance. The propeller of such models is always located at the back, which does not interfere with controlling the flight processes through a device (camera) for tracking.

Materials for creating unmanned vehicles

Slightly reminiscent of foam, but not deformed by glue and having better strength characteristics, can be attributed to the first group of materials that are suitable for these purposes. And very light and at the same time quite rigid polyethylene foam can also be a good alternative to the first type of material and can also be used without fear that the model will be deprived of quality characteristics. In both cases, both materials perfectly tolerate all types of repairs and do an excellent job with their basic functions.

How is the ground control process going?

All that is needed to control the maneuvers of the device, while in an easy chair on the ground, is a reliable control system, which, as usual, includes a remote control and a receiver. Today you can find many famous brands of such a control system, but the simpler the better, so use not the fancy one itself, but purchase a device that recognizes signals at a frequency of 2.4 GHz. But you should not save on the remote control, because this product does not change too often, but you have to use it all the time. At the same time, this detail is quite tangible in terms of cost for your pocket, of course, not if you decide to purchase Chinese developments.

Assembly and its features

Having trained enough in the flight simulator, and having all the necessary parts and control systems available, you can approach the most exciting and interesting stage - assembling your aircraft. And the most difficult thing in this whole process, perhaps, will be the development of a soldering iron. The planes of the drone are controlled using servos, and in order for the model to be able to take off into the air, it must be equipped with an engine and a regulator, with the help of which the speed will be adjusted. Perhaps, you can’t do without a battery either, otherwise what to recharge from and how to supply power to the receiving device and servos.

You need to buy all components only in trusted stores, as well as relying on the advice of experienced specialists and professionals in this field. And you can talk about the types and diverse schemes and assembly methods for quite some time, but the choice will still be yours.

Today, ordering electronics for a quadrocopter from China is very cheap. Assembling a quadrocopter frame with your own hands from improvised materials is not at all difficult. You can learn how to fly with the help of flight simulators. So the main thing is the desire to make a quadrocopter with your own hands.

It is best to buy ready-made electronics for a quadrocopter.

Do-it-yourself radio-controlled quadrocopter assembly

First you need to decide whether you will use a standard frame or decide to make your own.

The purchased frame is convenient, but in case of a breakdown, you will have to wait until the spare part arrives. A self-made quadcopter frame assembled by hand allows you to fix a breakdown in 20-30 minutes, but requires additional work in the manufacture of a quadcopter.

The simplest option is to use plastic pipes for wiring. They are lightweight and quite durable. In addition, you can buy swivel parts and wall mounts, which are suitable for mounting electric motors to the frame.

The result is a very robust design that allows you to carry not only the electronics of the quadcopter itself, but also a camera for video shooting from the quadcopter.

An important detail for beginners is the place where you will release your first drone for flights. The urban area is eliminated immediately, as houses, trees and wires will interfere with test flights. The park doesn't work either. One wrong move - the vacationer and your new brainchild may suffer. It is better to go out into the open field and steer the quadric for your pleasure.

List of main spare parts:

O motors with controllers for them;

O battery for quadcopter and remote control;

O flight controller;

O control panel with signal reception and transmission;

O charger;

O connecting wires, bolts, etc.;

O tools for the job.

In order to be able to modify the drone to work with video and photography in the future, the base between the rays of the copter should be made wider in order to later accommodate the rest of the devices.

Selecting the shape of the quadcopter

First of all, you should decide on the number of beams and screws on the copter. There is a wide variety in the modifications and appearance of flying drones, based on the number of beams coming out of the center of the frame, there are tri-, quadro-, hexa- and octocopters.
The number of propellers can be more than the number of beams. But the name doesn't change. For example, a quadcopter has two motors with propellers on each beam - this does not make it an octocopter.

The most popular model among quadcopters is the quatrocopter with an X-shaped beam arrangement. Firstly, two motors pull the entire structure forward at once, and secondly, the attached video camera will not see the propellers in front of it.

What to consider when selecting all spare parts

Based on the estimated weight of the complete structure of an already FPV quadcopter with a camera, you should assemble a copter with powerful motors. This implies the purchase of additional batteries or the installation of more capacious ones at once.

Visual assembly video:

YouTube video

To facilitate the design, the frame can be made independently. There are options: from simple wooden rulers to aluminum profiles or tubes. You can save money on this. The main thing is that the material is durable, since when it falls, the first thing that suffers is the rays of the copter.

Of course, there are ready-made frames, but you should beware of fakes, otherwise at least one “leg” will fly off after the first crash test. For the duration of the management skill, improvised materials are more advantageous.

The beams for a quadrocopter have an optimal parameter - 30-60 cm in length from motor to motor.

In order not to get hurt and not to mow the foliage of nearby trees, as well as to test the copter at home, you can put special protection on the propellers.

What will the flight controller and all other gadgets be attached to? Here, too, you can turn on the fantasy. Of course, a piece of cardboard will not work, but a square of plywood, a plastic base from under the CD box is optimal. Not heavy and will withstand everything that you need to fasten.

Motors - they need four at once. For propellers, they are mainly selected according to diameter and power. The diameter is taken from the parameters of the frame (if it is self-made, then at its discretion).

Motor controllers are needed to control the speed of rotation of the blades. The power of the engines directly depends on the weight of the drone assembly.

Batteries for motors can be of different capacities. It is better to provide the opportunity to change batteries to high capacities and, of course, use not one, but several at once.

The screws themselves can be taken 9-12 cm. A pair of ordinary and 2 with reverse rotation. It is desirable that they come with fasteners for several types of motors at once.

The most important and most expensive thing in a quatrocopter is its "brains", namely the flight controller - you can't save on it. Here, the future capabilities of the drone should be considered. It is better to take a microcontroller programmable (for example, Arduino Mega). Sensors for it can be taken "all in one" All In One (gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer, magnetometer), or at a minimum - a gyroscope and an accelerometer.

Additional functions:

· GPS — flight route programming;

· "soft landing" - fail safe (if the radio connection with the remote control is lost, the copter will sit down smoothly, and not crash to the ground);

· FPV (first person view) - view from the first person, and observation from the tablet.

The transmitter on the control board should be chosen according to your pocket. The main thing is that there should be at least four channels and a frequency of 2.4 GHz. It can be bought for left-handed or right-handed people.

Of course, you will have to tinker with wires, but in capable hands this time will pass quickly.

It is better to attach a special soft lining to the legs of the copter or to the beams themselves on the frame, so that landing on hard surfaces is easier.

It won't be easy, but it will be interesting and entertaining!

In addition to the basic materials, consumables are also required - bolts, nuts, washers.

At this stage, the tools you will need are a hacksaw, a drill and a file.

After all the materials are prepared, we proceed to the process:

· In any convenient way, transfer the drawing to the textolite blank and cut off the unnecessary material along the contour.

Connect all the resulting parts, securing them.

Prepare the holes for the screws (they are red in the drawing) with a 3 mm drill.

· After the beams are fixed on the frame, make holes to facilitate the construction (these are white circles in the drawing).

· On the beams, prepare holes for mounting the engine.

· At the last stage, degrease the frame and glue it with double-sided tape to dampen vibrations.

In subsequent steps, you will need the following items: board, motor controllers, propellers, motors, battery and charger for it, transmitter and receiver.

In order to fix the controllers on the adapter board, it is worth using a copper wire without insulation. After that, the power wires, bus wires, a toggle switch for turning the power on and off are soldered.

When placing the controllers on the board, it is worth remembering that they must all be directed to the corresponding motors.
The next step is the installation of engines. It begins with soldering the wires to the motor terminals of their insulation. Then the engines themselves are installed at the ends of the beams and bolted to the underside of the "leg".

After that comes the crucial moment of fastening the "brain" of the quadrocopter - the adapter board. It is better to install it on small rubber dampers. It is important to protect the board from moisture and dust, so immediately close it with any plastic cap. Its shape and transparency depends solely on your preferences and does not affect the safety of the board.

A battery is attached to the prepared compartment, which is also better fixed on a rubber layer.

At the last stage, we fix the screws on the engines, connect the transmitter and the LED backlight.

From general to specific. The frame of the quadra must be strong. A piece of plywood (150 x 150 mm) is suitable for its manufacture; a square aluminum profile (14 x 14 mm) can be used as a frame.

The profile will also be needed for the manufacture of rays. The length of each of them from the center of the structure should be 300 mm. On them, by the way, you can fit pieces of foam or rubber, which will soften the landing.

Next, install the board. It needs to be bought. It is recommended to purchase a board already equipped with all sensors - gyroscope, accelerometer, barometer and magnetometer - AllInOne. There are options for boards also with a GPS receiver. Sensors can be attached to the structure with thick adhesive tape or silicone - this will help to avoid strong vibration.

It must be mounted in the center of the structure. The self-tapping screws should securely screw the board to the ends of the beams and pass through the plywood. There should be a receiver next to it. It can be glued with superglue.

The motors of the quadcopter must be equally spaced. Therefore, before placing them, you need to make accurate markings on the beams and only then drill holes. By the way, the space for the tail of the shaft must be made through, over its entire width so that it does not touch its edges.

Now a little about the power wires of the speed controllers. They are connected in parallel with adapters. Where the battery is connected to them, a detachable connection should be made.

Now it remains only to connect the wires to the appropriate engines and install the “brains”. Finding firmware for the board (Arduino) on the Internet is not difficult. First it is downloaded, then the settings. During the installation of the program, step-by-step instructions will appear. They need to be clearly followed in order to debug the control of the device and calibrate it.

There is a section AC2 Sensor in the program menu. Here, the operation of sensors and receivers is checked. All rotations and changes in levels should be reflected with the maximum accuracy on the fluctuations of the arrow and LED indicators.

After all this debugging, you can install the propellers and test the flight. In this case, it is better to place the device away from you. Gas should be smooth. If the drone is airborne, great. If it starts to shake, you should go to the PID settings. Other nuances of debugging through the program are also possible.

How to choose the right motor for a quadcopter? Undoubtedly, this part should be selected based on the characteristics and capabilities of the aircraft. The use of a motor is necessary only in large quadrocopters, otherwise its presence will be unjustified and the device simply will not work.

The main rule is that you should choose a motor after the final assembly of the quadcopter. When planning to attach a video camera or other device to a flying device, it is worth considering the additional weight. In order not to overload the device, it is necessary to calculate the thrust, which can be viewed from special tables. For example, if the weight of the device is 1.5 kilograms, then the thrust should be 2 times more, that is, equal to 3 kilograms.

To choose the right quadcopter engine, you should carefully study all its characteristic properties. An equally important role is played by the screws of the device. The quadcopter hangs in the air due to several pairs of rotors rotating in different directions.

Just in order for the propellers to work properly, you need to choose an engine based on the parameters of your quadrocopter. Propellers consume a lot of motor power, and motor power is important when buying.

To select the right motor, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with various videos, where you will be told in detail about good parts for a quadcopter. Due to the tips that already experienced pilots will give, you can assemble a unique quadcopter with a powerful engine.

Why do you need a powerful engine? Firstly, it allows the device to fly much faster and longer, to perform certain maneuvers. Secondly, you can hang additional cargo on the quadcopter, for example, a camera that will shoot materials when flying at altitude. Due to this, you can take high-quality pictures.

Therefore, it is necessary to select the engine based on what kind of quadcopter you want to build. It is necessary to select the correct engine power, otherwise the device may either not take off, or it will be completely uncontrollable. To avoid this, you need to listen to the advice of experts, and then it will be very easy to assemble a quadrocopter.