The reasons why amateur copter pilots think about how to assemble a quadcopter with their own hands vary. For example, someone is not satisfied with the prices, someone wants to install their own camera, which is not installed on any gimbal, others want to get a configuration only for racing. You never know what else!

Modern users prefer to receive a comprehensive answer to the above question in the form step-by-step recommendations. And it’s even better if they are given the opportunity to see it in video format. Because diagrams and instructions in many cases do not fully disclose all the important parts during assembly.

In order to understand how to make a quadcopter with your own hands, let's take a look at the big picture so that at each stage of assembly we have an understanding of how much we have already managed to do and how much work we still have to do. This will make it easier to continue and complete the process, because often a lack of understanding of how much work is left makes a novice designer give up halfway through.

So, let's first remember all the key components of the aircraft that must be included in the kit for assembling a quadcopter with your own hands. The first thing that comes to mind is, of course, the body of the drone, on which all the other equipment and electronics will be placed.

Assembling the case from scratch is not difficult at all. For example, if we look at what the body of conventional quadcopters is made of, we will see that manufacturers use plastic as the material. Plastic is the most versatile and suitable material for assembling the body and beams of any drone.

It is lightweight, which allows you to retain battery charge for a longer period. It cannot, of course, be said that plastic is the most reliable means of protecting a multicopter from damage in the event of an emergency fall. But if you think about it in general, even large planes made of stronger materials fall apart into pieces. Therefore, we will not be so demanding of lightweight plastic, the main task of which is, first of all, to firmly secure electronics and accessories inside the case during flight.

If you do not have the opportunity to make beams and body elements from this material, and also do not have spare pipes or beams from other unmanned vehicles, then we recommend paying attention to ordinary plywood. Of course, you should not select solid fiberboard sheets, because no motors or motors will be able to lift such a heavy structure. Look for a lighter option for your case.

Plywood is also good because any number of holes can be drilled into it to improve the aerodynamic characteristics of the copter, as well as for inserting various copter blocks into it. They can be the same blocks for motors and propellers, fastenings for wires and landing gear, compartments for electronic boards, batteries and video cameras.

After this, you should consider installing electronic and printed circuit boards on the finished case. This will allow you to move in assembling the device as if from its middle. As they like to say in such cases, dance from the stove. That is, from the most important thing that is in a quadcopter.

On each of the beams, special markings must be made so that the wires and motors are installed perfectly. How smoothly and balanced your assembled device will fly depends on this. An error of a couple of millimeters can lead to a strong roll or tilt of the drone during flight. Take accurate measurements and double check them several times before installing motors.

At the very end, all you have to do is establish a connection between all components of the drone - draw a connection between them in the form of wiring. General recommendations Read on to learn how to establish a connection. It remains to be added here that this is where the preliminary assembly of the drone ends. All that remains is to do a lot of tests on the ground and in the air to make sure that you did everything correctly and in case of errors, and, believe me, they will definitely be made, adjustments will be made.

Next, we will tell you what important components should be on board your copter, so that you know where, in fact, you need to start building your air “house” and what important details will come in handy. After this, you will definitely no longer have all the questions like “how to assemble a quadcopter yourself and at home.” As it turns out, it's not that difficult. The most important thing is to know the structure of the drone and the principles of its flight.

What is a quadrolet?

For those who are not yet in the know, this is a structure, a platform, a structure, aircraft, which is more convenient for you, which (if we are talking about a platform) is controlled by a transmitter. Has 4 engines with the same number of propellers. The assembly of such aircraft necessarily includes a flying multi-engine platform.

When the drone takes off, it assumes a horizontal position. Like a helicopter, it is capable of hovering above the surface of the earth for different heights. It flies in different directions. Previously, copters could only fly towards their nose. In recent years, they began to make models of the Headless type, when a drone during flight could fly sharply in any of four directions without turning its nose in that direction.

The copter is able to rise and fall, while it always remains horizontal relative to the ground. If special equipment is installed on it, then in some cases it can even fly in autopilot mode. Most aviation enthusiasts use such opportunities, first of all, to focus on aerial photography at this moment, and not to show the world their aerobatic skills.

General operating principle of a drone

As we said earlier, the system is multi-rotor. These same rotors create powerful diagonal rotation in opposite directions. The rotors have a so-called manager that collects information from three or six gyroscopes (the number of the latter depends on the configuration of the copter) and transmits it to the rotors.

Gyroscopes were created in order to automatically determine the position of the device during flight and then fix it in all three planes. At the same time, the accelerometer makes sure that the copter takes an ideal horizontal position. To secure the quadcopter at a certain height, the flight system is equipped with a barometer.

Due to this, the copter moves if all four propellers turn equally. The result of changing the rotation speed of one or another pair of motors is the tilt of the copter (as it is also called “roll”) towards the weakest rotating propellers - the drone flies horizontally.

In most cases, there are strictly four rotors, but from time to time you can find copters with six or even eight rotors. That’s why they are called multicopters, and the word “quadcopter” will no longer be relevant to the last two representatives of multirotor drones.

Instructions for assembling a simple drone

The first thing that comes to mind when assembling your own quad is, of course, its frame. There is nothing complicated with this element. For its base, ordinary plywood measuring 15 square centimeters will do. The beams are adjusted using screws along the diagonal markings of your frame. The beam should be 30 centimeters long, starting from the center of the copter. The beams are 25 cm. The holes for the engines themselves will be set aside at the end of creating the body, having first made markings for the engines.

And here is what is useful for the assembly itself:

• Turnigy 9 technology;
• Control board;
• Batteries for Turnigy;
• Power battery;
• Blades;
• Various battery chargers.

Let's start assembling

First of all, we install the control board. At the same time, place it as close to the center of your platform as possible. From the very beginning, take the necessary, and most importantly, accurate measurements. In this case, the device will not drift from side to side during the flight. Use self-tapping screws of sufficient length to screw the beams to the board. An aluminum strip is suitable for landing skis and holding the battery.

Install the receiver close to the board. To install the receiver, you can use some powerful superglue. A simplified version of connecting with two three-wire cables is possible in the case when the receiving channels are the same in purpose as the control board channels. Keep this in mind.

Engine Installation

Before inserting it, you need to make precise markings of the rays and make holes for the engine itself. Make sure that the distance from the edges to the axis of rotation is equivalent. At least as much as possible. When installing the engine, a shaft tail will stick out from its bottom, so you need to make a special hole for it.

When making holes for fastening, drill across the entire width of the square and all the way through. Then you can immediately see whether the shaft will catch on the edges of this square.

Wiring

Using adapters, make parallel connection 4 power wires. In the place where the battery will be connected to all four wires, you will need to use detachable connections. In other places soldering will be necessary. Then heat-shrink all the parts so that during strong vibration (when the copter is flying) nothing will jump out and become detached.

Now let's work on the control board and connect the driver wires. In principle, after this operation you can do a small check and eliminate problems that are revealed during testing.

The second way to assemble a quadcopter yourself

No matter how you assemble your first aircraft, there is one thing you need to remember - do not spare money on the parts from which you will assemble the drone. Only in this case, with a greater degree of probability, the result will be of high quality and minor inaccuracies and errors will be forgiven.

When assembling the quadcopter using the second method, we will consider a step-by-step assembly option with using Arduino Mega, Mega-Pirate firmware.

What is required for assembly? 5 motors, including 1 spare. Also purchase two sets of blades - one for use, the other for reserve. We remind you that there should be two regular screws and two with reverse rotation. Speed ​​controllers. There should be at least four of them and, again, at least as many spare ones.

It is better to take a smaller battery for such a drone so that it does not weigh down the copter.

We recommend using several light and small ones. Yes, the drone will fly less during one life cycle such a mini-battery, but at the same time your flight will be more stable. Moreover, the process of replacing the battery will not take much time.

The frame for your quadcopter should be lightweight and at the same time durable. Remember what frame we described in the first case self-assembly. So, such a frame is quite suitable for this option. From the electronic stuffing you will need: an all-in-one board, an accelerometer, batteries, a microcontroller, a gyroscope, as well as many bolts, screws, wires and various types screed Don't forget also about a soldering iron and drill.

Once you are sure that you have everything you need, you can safely begin assembly. The assembly process can be repeated using the first method described above. The most important thing is that the distance from each end of the beam to the center of the frame is the same. Make sure that the propellers do not touch each other and, importantly, the central part of the frame, because this is where the electronic brains of your drone will be located, plus a video camera, which, by the way, can be installed at will.

If you mount your sensors in rubber or, say, in a silicone mass, then the force of vibration during operation of the propellers will be dampened. As a chassis, foam can be made and secured at the very ends of the beams. For a softer landing, they can be rubberized or foam rubber attached.

If you do not want to assemble the board yourself, we recommend buying a ready-made one. It already has 4 sensors installed, a gyroscope that will measure angular acceleration, an accelerometer that measures acceleration, a barometer that is responsible for selecting the desired height and holds the quadcopter at it, as well as a magnetometer that is responsible for where the drone will fly.

How to build a cheap Arduino Uno quadcopter with your own hands

If you follow brief instructions according to the Arduino Uno assembly outlined below, the output you will get is an unmanned four-beam device with a 30-minute flight time, measuring 60 centimeters (152 inches) from motor to motor. It will weigh a little more than one kilogram.

For the frame you need to use thin beams cut from ordinary wooden planks. The approximate thickness of one such beam should be 1-1.5 centimeters from above and about 3-4 centimeters when looking at the beam from the side. Make two identical pieces, each 60 centimeters long, and by cutting a hole in the center of one of them, secure both beams firmly together. You can solder them, glue them, and so on.

After that, for your convenience, you can paint the rays in two different colors. For example, paint the front two beams yellow, and red or black those beams that, after assembly, will be the back side of the drone.

The power board will need to be installed at the junction of your frame. It should be fixed in the center, at the bottom of the cross. Using plastic straps, the length of which can be adjusted, attach this board to the case on both sides. This will be enough to prevent the board from falling off and stably fulfilling its main purpose. Don’t be confused by the fact that it can move and move from its place by a couple of millimeters or even 1 centimeter.

After that, you will need to install 4 electronic speed controllers from HobbyKing - each weighing only 16 grams. Attach them securely near the edge of each beam. The same plastic adjustable strap with which you secured the power board is quite suitable for this purpose. In most cases, only one strap per controller is sufficient. But if you doubt it, you can add one or even two more straps for security.

At the end of each beam you should attach a special cap with a hole into which you will install the engines and propellers. Again, use straps as a fixing material. Secure the cover securely so that it does not fall off the first time you start the engines. By the way, it is better to install the electronic speed controller on the top of the beam. This will make it interact better with the propeller and make it easier for you to establish a connection between them.

The control panel, assembled from several important electronic elements (see illustration for assembly diagram), is attached to the top using plastic straps. Your board should have two holes on each of the four sides in order to securely attach it to each beam.

Ultimately, there will be two boards in the central part of your homemade quad. One is the power panel, installed at the bottom of the mount, the second is the control panel, mounted at the top of the crossed beams of your copter.

To soften and suppress the vibration of motors, which will not have a very good effect on your electronics, you need to make anti-vibration dampers. For these purposes, you can use regular silicone earplugs. They are sold at any pharmacy. You will need a set of four of these earplugs to fit under each control circuit board mount.

The best way to do this is as follows. Before you start tightening the reinforcement straps on each of the four sides of your board, place the silicone plug so that it is under the board itself and still rests on the beam. In this case, it will act as a kind of gasket between these two rigid elements and will be able to absorb vibration.

To secure the earplug between the board and the multicopter spider, insert a plastic strap into the holes on the board, align the earplug and tighten the strap so that it can secure not only printed circuit board on the crosspiece, but also pressed the plug itself on both sides.

Now let's start installing the batteries. You can use two Zippy Compact batteries. The capacity of each of them is 3700 milliampere hours. If you use both of them, it will double. As a result, we get 7400 mAh and almost 30 minutes of full flight. However, it is worth remembering that these two batteries will become the main load of the drone. Their total weight will be 517 grams.

To secure the batteries you will need tape and a long plastic strap (only one, but wider than the ones you used to secure the parts before). The batteries should be attached in such a way that they take a diagonal position, that is, they are attached not to either beam, but to both at once.

It is clear that best place for this there will be the same cross in the center. Since there will be free space between the control printed circuit and the crosspiece itself, obtained due to the height of the earplugs, you will need to insert a strap into this gap in order to attach the batteries to the structure.

Before this, you will need to place one battery on top of another, and add a regular soft sponge on top, which is used to transport breakable parts, pass a plastic strap under them, and stick strong tape on top of it. This will keep the strap in place so the batteries don't slip off, and will help keep the batteries glued to each other. For reliability, you can also use tape to glue the batteries to each other along the edges, but this is already optional.

Next, we place the batteries tightly to the bottom of the case and insert the strap into the hole under the board from above. We tighten it tightly. If necessary, we check the structure again for strength. The sponge will also act as a dampener for vibration that may occur between the quad beams, batteries, and power board at the bottom of the structure.

Special caps at the ends of the beams can now be used to install 25mm motors and put propellers on them. Your frame is already painted in two different colors, in order to better navigate where the front of the device is and where the back is. But for more precise orientation, you can use an orange or white table tennis ball.

To do this, you need to run an ordinary wire from one front beam to the other and secure each end approximately under the speed controllers. In the center of the wire there should already be a ball tightly strung on it.

That's it, your Arduino is ready to fly. As mentioned above, its flight weight was 1054 grams. The flight time at this weight is 30 minutes and a few seconds.

When designing the quadcopter, the presence of landing gear was not taken into account. In principle, they are not needed, because the drone does not have a camera installed on its belly, and it is not worth protecting the batteries and bothering with attaching legs for them. All you have to do is accurately calculate when the 30 minutes of flight are up and land the system softly on the ground in time. This way you will protect the device from accidentally falling from high altitude, because you will not have sensors anywhere to inform you about the state of charge of your batteries.

Setting up the firmware

Today it is quite easy to find the necessary firmware, download and install. After loading it into Arduino, download the program for configuration. After launching the program, you will be taken to the “Options” menu, there, enter the Arduino COM port and go to the Action menu - AC2 Setup. To ensure that the ATV setup is correct, try to flawlessly follow the instructions (tips) during the installation process and operation of the program.

For example, one dialog will ask you to move the levers on the transmitter to the highest and lowest values, while another will ask you to control the position of the aircraft. It must be level for accurate calibration of the sensors.

When the calibration is complete, you will need to open A5 from GND. In the menu, in the AC2 Sensor item, find the Raw Sensor tab to check if the sensors are working correctly. In this case, you need to focus on the arrow. While rotating our board, the arrow should reach the desired value. If this does not happen or, on the contrary, it goes off scale, then you have problems with the sensors or coefficients in the code.

The transmitter is checked as follows. If the levels move as expected, then when you press the gas lever to the right and down for a couple of seconds, the red diode will blink. If you move the stick up, the indicators should be identical, that is, the LED should light red again.

Takeoff

It's time to take off. Before doing this, install the multicopter at a distance of approximately 10-12 meters from you. Tilt the throttle down and to the right. The copter will have to take off. If instead it is stationary, the propellers are running, and it is shaking, then you will need to adjust the PID configuration in the appropriate menu.