A quadcopter is not only fun and interesting. Such a device can be used for aerial photography, delivering small loads, performing patrolling tasks, and participating in competitions. It is for the latter purpose that many professionals prefer not to buy ready-made models, but to assemble a quadrocopter with their own hands. You can also do this at home. The main thing is to choose the right components.
The first thing that should be understood by a beginner who has decided to make a quadrocopter with his own hands: it will not work without buying special components. Flying four-rotor machine is a fairly complex computerized system. Therefore, the purchase of a special control board, the signals from which will stabilize and direct the multicopter, is a must.
A few tips will help you build a drone with a high chance of a positive result.
And most importantly, you shouldn't try to make a quadrocopter with a camera right away. This device (if you want to get a high-quality image) is not only bulky and rather heavy, but also inevitably unbalances the drone.
Professional athletes who use racing drones prefer to buy ready-made assembly kits. These are the so-called ARF kits... They include the minimum set of components to make a DIY drone with predictable performance. At the same time, the owner is offered some freedom in modifying the parameters of the product by replacing the blades, batteries and other components.
ARF kits typically include:
After the homemade quadcopter is assembled, install the control system. It can be purchased separately.
Another advantage of ARF kits is the wide possibilities for modifying the flight characteristics of the drone.... You can assemble a quadcopter with a long range by connecting it to the appropriate control system. Or provide good characteristics maneuverability using special consoles.
The quadcopter can be assembled by yourself, at home. You can't do without the purchase of complex electronic components. But the power frame with the legs of the engines can be made from scrap materials. There are several build options. The frame can be made from plastic pipes water supply network or assemble a structure from a thin aluminum square section.
The easiest way - make a plywood frame... This will require a square, the dimensions of which are matched to the dimensions of the future copter. The engine legs will be attached to the base of the plywood frame. It can be either a finished product of industrial production or hand-made parts. The step-by-step assembly of the power frame is as follows.
Only people with high level skill of modeling and use hand tools... Maximum precision and minimum material quantity are required.
It is recommended to purchase for assembling a copter at home complete set of motors with control system... This will eliminate possible deviations in rpm and other balancing difficulties. If you want to assemble everything yourself, including the lifting motor system, you should focus on:
Next, the choice of the engine is made by its marking. The manufacturer always indicates the stator diameter and the motor height. For each product, the type and size of the blades recommended for use is indicated. After that, based on the mass of the drone and the engine speed when hovering (indicated in the passport), a specific propeller brand is selected.
The blades are one of the simple parts that beginners pay little attention to. The flight characteristics of the drone as a whole depend on the design of this element. Recommendations for the selection of blades are as follows.
The second main factor in the choice of blades is the material from which they are made. For beginners, when assembling the first models, you can buy plastic propellers... But it is worth remembering that they are not durable. Plastic deforms, dries up (changes hardness). In addition, during operation, the blades are damaged by dust and other suspensions in the air, which increases their aerodynamic resistance.
Metal propellers — optimal choice if you want a durable drone with stable performance. Such products are more expensive than plastic, but they last much longer, showing stable characteristics. It is worth remembering that metal propellers will inevitably require more power from the motors to rotate.
The third type of materials used to make blades is composite polymers, multi-layer construction. These propellers are lightweight and durable. Their price is high, but in the field of sports drones, composite blade materials are unrivaled.
Important! If you are planning to assemble a quadcopter at home for the first time, then you should not save money when buying blades. You should carefully study the manufacturer's reported weight differences between the individual propellers in the kit. In practice, buying a set of paddle blocks is only 10% more expensive than the average price, you can get rid of the work on balancing the system.
Control system recommended for beginners to purchase, consists of a remote control and a receiver installed on the copter... Today on the market there are a great variety of kits offering different functionality. For example, it can be implemented:
The cost of the control system directly depends on the class of the solution. Therefore, it is recommended to carefully analyze the scope and tasks of the copter before choosing one or another set of its electronics.
The assembly of the quadcopter is not very difficult.
The assembly is completed by carefully insulating the wire junction with heat shrinkage... If it is necessary to protect the control boards from moisture, they are covered with covers. After that, you can attach the battery and test the aircraft in operation.
If you do not save on the purchase of components, assembling a homemade drone will not be difficult. It is enough to act carefully, in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer of certain components. As a rule, after the first successfully assembled model, beginners have ambitions and a desire to assemble a drone with improved functionality. To minimize spending, you should consider this option in advance. For example, buy a control board that supports direct camera connection or signal transmission to a smartphone via Wi-Fi.
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Well, with a complete set like everything, if you forgot something, poke your nose. Let's start assembling. I apologize in advance for the quality of the photos and their small number. I was too keen on the process. So let's go!
First of all, we cut off pieces of a 10mm profile to the desired length (what we want as a result of the rays) and drill holes for attaching motors, laying wires and antennas for the radio control receiver. It turns out something like this ... 
, we attach the motors to the inner side of the profile. The standard screws will have to be shortened a little, the profile is much thinner than the beams of any finished frame, for which these screws are designed. If this is not done, the screw will rest against the motor winding and most likely it will die prematurely. In the end, it turns out something like this ... 
... The radio control antennas are also visible in this photo. We pull the wires from the motors through the holes made into the beam. I also protected them with a snakeskin braid. Something like that.... 
... Next, paint the frame parts in the color you like, attach the finished beams, the speed controller and solder the motors to its terminals ... 
Immediately on the photo you can see the installation of a radio control receiver, a video transmitter and a buck stabilizer for powering the gimbal. The stabilizer is needed so that, regardless of the voltage of the power battery (14.0-16.8v), the suspension is always powered from 12v. Next, install the flight controller, preferably on the dampers. I took these (for which I paid) 
, but more on that later ... I solder the radio control receiver to the flight controller, the FPV cable from the camera and the cable to the video transmitter, as well as the power connector from the battery (I decided to bring it out on wires away from the PC) ... 
… something like this. We also solder the connector for connecting a GPS receiver and a compass. You also need to solder two power wires to power the governor and the governor control loop. Everything is soldered according to the scheme taken from the official website of the PC manufacturer. There she is.... 
according to this scheme, the regulator is connected, but according to this everything else ... 
... We do not pay attention to separate regulators here. It turns out something like this ... 
... The photo also shows a capacitor that is soldered parallel to the power connector and is designed to smooth out voltage surges in the power circuit. The capacitor is included with the PC. Also visible is the connector for controlling the tilt of the camera, it is soldered to the S6 pin of the flight controller and to the ground. Actually, you can assemble the frame to the end, put a weight and size model of the camera with a suspension (so as not to kill delicate equipment in the event of an unplanned crash), make the initial settings and go into the field to adjust more accurately. The quad has Inav 1.9.1 firmware. I will not describe here how to flash the flight controller and configure Inav. This is a rather extensive topic, firstly, requiring a separate review, and secondly, there are already a lot of videos and recommendations from more experienced people with a more understandable explanation. But if anyone needs it, I can explain it on my fingers. And we continue ... In this photo, the first flight and hovering at the point. A video of hovering and an example of shooting a copter will be at the end of the review ... 
... Now it's time to go into more detail on the dampers that I used for the flight controller. The point is that they are a little wide and do not fit properly on the regulator. I grinded them off a little on one side (you can see it in the photo if you look closely), while the inner metal part was exposed. She then closed one of the outputs of the regulator. I had to replace it with separate Racerstar Lite 30a 
By tradition, the link is here
... and a power distribution board from Matek 
It already has a 12V power output, so a stabilizer is no longer needed to power the gimbal. Well, now everything is really with the drone itself. I flew in this form about 10 batteries, no complaints. It's time to install the gimbal and camera. At first, I wanted to make a console-type gimbal (this is when the damper pad is not on top, but behind the camera) like on TBS Discovery. To do this, we disassemble the suspension and make several new parts for it ... 
I have neither a 3D printer nor a CNC machine, so I did everything with a grinder and a file. I put together the suspension in rough, it turned out like this ... 
Dimensions and appearance I was completely satisfied and I started painting and final assembly of the suspension. In the end, this is what happened 
The gimbal connects to the 12V pins on the power distribution board and the S6 output of the flight controller to control the camera.
Well, that seems to be all, we are trying to take off and ... Unfortunately, one unpleasant feature emerged. The air flow from the front screws tore the camera from its place and the gimbal was unable to stabilize it. I tried to change the settings, cover the camera from above with a visor (collective farm, but still), nothing helped. I had to sell the Walker suspension and look for another. Took Tarot t-3d. The fact is that this suspension has one jamb (except for the branded blockage of the horizon, of course), the distance between the dampers is still normal in length, but in width they are located very close to each other. Because of this, in the wind, swinging of the suspension and jelly can be observed. I had to slightly alter its bottom plate and position the dampers at an angle. This design has proven itself very well in past versions of suspensions. Then everything is simple, I attach the suspension to the adapter plate. I made it from PCB and it turned out to be quite fun ... 
... And actually I install a ready-made suspension on it. 
... The gimbal was also connected to the 12V pins from the power distribution board, and to the S6 pin of the flight controller for tilt control. Top covered homemade lid made of fiberglass and epoxy, so that wires and boards do not irritate the eyes. Actually, everything is probably with the assembly, now a little about the characteristics. The diagonal distance between the axles of the motors is 380mm, take-off weight is 1.4kg. I did not measure the flight range until the end, flew 3 km and returned back, although the control and video were without glitches, and the battery margin remained. I think 3.5-3.7 km is quite capable of flying. The flight altitude is unlimited, but I climbed a maximum of 250m. Flight time from 4S 4200mAh battery 17-19min. When folded, only a little more radio control equipment ... 
And this is the size in the unfolded state ... 
.
And finally, a few thoughts. If you need a compact drone for shooting, then I do not really recommend repeating this project, unless you love assembling, soldering and tweaking more than flying. Firstly, it will not come out cheaper than ready-made copters, and secondly, it will require a huge amount of patience, attention and perseverance when setting up, for which not everyone is ready. As for me, I have all the peripherals (video glasses, radio control equipment, batteries, charger and camera) have already been and are used on other models, so this copter did not hit my pocket hard. Well, ready-made copters, in principle, are not interesting to me, and I can't fly looking at the phone at all. And here is an example of video shooting from this quadric
Here is such a story. Where you made a mistake, or messed up, write in the comments, I always support justified criticism. Bye everyone Add to favorites
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Buying a ready-made quadcopter is the most simple option in order to become the owner of a four-rotor flying model. For those who are not looking for easy ways and want to enjoy the assembly process, the best option would be to assemble the quadcopter with your own hands.
The quadcopter assembly process consists of 6 steps:
With a minimum of experience, the number of steps can be reduced to two.
I think there is no need to talk about the fact that you need to have a minimum of copter control skills. If there are none, you need to practice on the simulator or buy an inexpensive quadcopter that is resistant to falls and cannot do much harm to others in the hands of an inexperienced pilot.
In this article, we will consider only point 2.
So, in order to assemble a quadrocopter with our own hands, we need:
This kit is enough to assemble a ready-to-fly copter. Further, if necessary, you can upgrade the quadrocopter by installing FPV equipment, GSP navigation, dimensional LED lighting, a separate BEC for powering the flight controller, a power distribution board, and so on. Depending on your requirements and budget possibilities.
A self-assembled quadcopter with a camera will allow you to take photos and record videos during the flight. To install the camera on a copter, you need a gimbal or a damper pad. The best solution To obtain a stable picture, a brushless gimbal is used, it is also the most expensive option for mounting an on-board camera. The damper pad only absorbs some of the vibrations. The picture is acceptable but not perfect. At the same time, the video quality leaves much to be desired without a vibration damping device. The camera can be used as a budget (Mobius, Xiaomi, etc.) and a professional SLR. It all depends on the size and capacity of the drone.
As we can see from this article, assembling a quadrocopter with your own hands is a rather interesting and exciting task. Which can bring a lot of pleasant impressions not only to an experienced hobby modeller, but also to a beginner in the field of assembling aircraft models.
Ask your questions in the comments.
Hey! Today we have a very interesting topic... I think you have already thought about the fact that you can assemble a quadrocopter with your own hands. The idea is really interesting. Choosing this, not the easiest way, you will not only get a good drone, but you will also be able to understand its structure and gain a lot of useful knowledge. And you will absorb some of this knowledge today. Go!
Before starting, it's worth remembering - what are the ways to get your own quadcopter? In fact, there are five of them.
RTF (ready to fly) - Just buy a ready-made copter. You just have to get it out of the box and fly it. This a good option, if you are not interested in these designers, and you just want to satisfy your need for a UAV. However, this is nowhere near as fun as the remaining options.
Suitable for those who want to make a drone with their own hands, but are not going to spend hours figuring out the documentation, calculators and other subtleties. Everything there is also calculated by the manufacturer and adjusted. You just need to assemble and configure. If you are now choosing your first quadcopter, then this is definitely your choice.
ARF (Almost Ready to Fly) - It's a little more complicated. There are different degrees of "readiness". Somewhere you need to buy a controller, but somewhere in the kit there is only a copter frame. You will have to assemble the quadrocopter, configure and calibrate it yourself. Option for those and dig deeper into their UAV.
This is the choice of advanced users. Building a drone from scratch means designing and building a frame and so on. This is a difficult, but very interesting path, especially if you do not take a ready-made control module, but or a raspberry pi.
We are not looking for easy ways. Grandfather's garage, aliexpress and electronics dump are our choices. The path of pain PVC pipes and hardcore, but the end result is a completely homemade quadcopter. There is full scope for imagination, and that's all necessary components and drawings of quadcopters can be found on the Internet.
Now let's figure out how to build a dream drone. I must say right away that this is a generalized guide, and some points may differ. I will try to systematize the process, and point out the main points of selection and assembly.
Do-it-yourself quadcopter assembly begins with the selection of components. This is the most crucial stage.
The supporting structure of the drone is extremely important. How much excess power you will have depends on its characteristics. The lighter the frame, the more expensive it is. You should not strain too much at the expense of durability, if your plans do not include the construction of a quadcopter for massive cameras. There are three main types of frame - four-beam, six-beam and eight-beam. In this case, we will start from a four-beam arrangement with single engines (one engine per beam).
Also, the frame can be equipped with folding arms, but this is already very expensive and not really necessary. You can try to implement it yourself.
What is needed. Firstly, if you take them in China, then their characteristics will be overestimated. Secondly, it will give you more space. For example, if you need to hang a heavier camera, or some other module, this will not damage flight performance.
This topic is quite voluminous. When you need to focus on your needs. If it is a simple copter for "flying", then you can safely take plastic ones. If you want a real working unit for aerial photography, or (which is not paradoxical, because every gram counts there), then it is advisable to use composite materials. Well, don't be greedy. An overpayment of 10 percent can eliminate the need for balancing.
To begin with, a smart solution would be to take a remote control that comes with a receiver. Then they will already be paired, and you just have to connect the receiver to the control board. Do not take the remote control thoughtlessly either. Usually, decent specimens with a long range start at 1,000 rubles. Many have a bunch of functions that will be impossible to use. For example, there are mode switches, but the board does not support flight modes. Because of this, weight and volume are taken up by useless switches.
They are characterized by power, motor turns, internal resistance, the presence of reverse, the accuracy of work and a bunch of other terrible parameters. If possible, look for a set of motors with controllers. If you don't want to, then you have to smoke forums and documentation. In principle, if you agree on the permissible type of motors and the output power, then the chance of missing is minimal, but I did not say that. Check back.
Using a calculator. It takes into account many parameters, including the weight of the battery pack itself. Again, I do not advise taking cheap ones. It burns beautifully, but too fast. , and equipped with powerful motors and other attachments with high energy consumption, then do not forget to check if the batteries have enough power.
Wow, this is the tiniest bit. The camera is not always needed, but if you need it, then. As a recording camera, you should use an action camera - GoPro or its Chinese counterparts (they are not much inferior in video quality, if not even superior to the "firm"). You need to focus on weight and viewing angle. With weight, everything is clear, but I'll tell you about the angle.
I would like the camera to capture the beauty of the world, but not capture the beams of the copter. If you missed and it happened, then you have to choose from two bad options.
Lower the camera so that it does not touch the propellers. It will most likely have to be lowered strongly, and this will cause a lot of problems with takeoff and landing, as well as with maneuverability, due to the shifted center of gravity.
Bring the camera forward. This is also a disaster. The center of gravity will shift again (in this case, you can try to balance with the battery). It will make the structure even heavier, because you will have to come up with a very powerful clamp. Otherwise, no budget vibration dampers will help the business, and the jelly effect is ensured.
You can try using the approximate formula L = 2 * tan (A / 2) x D, where:
You will get the diameter of the circle, but since the camera is shooting a rectangular image, this diameter will be the diagonal. There, you can roughly estimate whether it hurts or not.
We select the components based on the required result. You don't have to take the best if you don't have to. You can roughly calculate the possibilities of your assembly using a calculator.
I say right away that you can take it in China, but it is worth taking a much more serious approach to the issue. The Chinese constantly overestimate the characteristics. So, you need to roughly understand how and what works, and not be led by the tales of the Chinese about unprecedented parameters and wonderful quality. In short, it is possible, but with an understanding of the matter and at your own peril and risk.
The controller is the brain of your multicopter. They can be divided into two types.
Versatile: For example, DJI NAZA. Such a controller can be used with absolutely any assembly. Whether it's a quadcopter or an octocopter. He is not imprisoned under the control of something specific. You can hang a bunch of equipment on it, it has many functions and sensors.
There are also downsides. The first minus is the price. The same DJI Naza-M V2 costs 17,000 rubles. The second minus is the need for customization. For this, a special program is used, written for a specific controller. Almost everything can be replaced and adjusted there, but this requires certain efforts, knowledge and time.
Specialized: As in the following example. It is already tuned to work with a specific layout of the copter. Of course, it gives some room, but you cannot adjust the power on each engine. It is inexpensive, knows little. The very thing, for a start.
Let's agree that you have read our article on choosing a set for assembling the quadcopter, and I took advantage of the most valuable advice - to take a frame with a distribution board. If not, then we connect the wires directly to the control module.
For example, consider an assembly of the following components:
Approximate price - 20,000 rubles
Smear the components on the table in an even layer, and begin.
This was one of the simplest examples to start with. Of course, if you want to use a camera, GPS, or a more complex controller, the design will be more complicated. Therefore, if you are not confident in your abilities, then it is worth starting small. Everything else can be screwed on later.
However, do not overestimate the complexity of the DIY. If there is no goal to assemble a multicopter from PVC pipes based on an arduino (and this also happens), then there is nothing that an ordinary user could not. The main thing is not to get lost, read and ask if something is not clear.
Finally, I would like to add some morality to this text. Any such activity, be it design or just assembly, is a powerful educational tool. The main thing is to just get started. You will begin to understand many subtleties, and learn to concentrate on important points... This does not only apply to the assembly of drones.
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The main reason that people are interested in assembling quadcopters is the desire to save money on buying an original device. However, this is not the only reason. Many people are interested in this issue, since the hobby of UAV control develops into something more, for example, participation in quadcopter races, and it is possible to win in them only by practicing as often as possible and modifying the design of your flying drone.
The most chances to assemble a quadrocopter with their own hands are from those who really want it. To simplify this task to an elementary assembly, you need to acquire an appropriate set of parts. Their cost is several times lower than that of RTF style quadcopters. The reason for this is that the user is not only responsible for assembling the structure, but also for flashing, calibrating and fine-tuning the device. The main advantage of such kits is that there is no need to select the power of motors, chips and case weight.
It also makes no sense to worry about the balance of the design, which directly affects the behavior of the device in the air. In this case, the quadrocopter will have all the planned characteristics, including speed and flight time. When choosing a kit, you can choose whether the quadcopter will be monolithic or collapsible, i.e. modular. The latter option will be more interesting for those who want to have a fairly large, but at the same time, easily portable model. It should be noted that such models often have a very aggressive and unattractive design.
This is because the kit does not include an external casing, which performs both protective and decorative functions. The assembly sequence for such structures is indicated in the instructions supplied with the kits. Usually, the assembly of such quadcopters begins with the installation of complete motors on an exoskeleton made of plastic, metal or carbon. After them, PIN-cables are installed, which act as power regulators for the installed motors. Further, the signal receiver and the main brain center - the control module - are fixed on the body.
At the end of the assembly, a battery, clips, LEDs and other modules that distinguish the model from others are installed. On this step by step assembly ends, and all the fun begins, namely the process of flashing the device, its calibration and fine-tuning, which, depending on the manufacturer of components, can take from half an hour to three hours. It is important that the battery is fully charged at the time of firmware. Otherwise, this process may fail.
Sadly, but still completely assembled from scrap materials, a full-fledged quadrocopter will not work. In any case, you will have to purchase a set of parts. But you can buy them not as a whole set, but take only the most necessary ones. These include motors, propellers, control board with receiver, and battery.
This is all that is needed in order to simply lift the quadcopter into the air and control it using the equipment. In order to prevent this set of components from falling apart in the air, it is required to fix them on a durable but lightweight body. You can make it from scrap materials. Anything can be used, from ice cream sticks to plastic lids and bottles.
As for additional purchases, you will also need to purchase equipment, since without it you can manage assembled device will be extremely difficult. The quadcopter circuit can be found on the net, or you can come up with it yourself. When creating a hull, it is worth remembering the flight qualities, balance, stability and lightness of the structure.
Otherwise, the device may not turn into a UAV, but into a crawling mini fan with a remote control. It will be possible to refine the created structure endlessly, therefore, during the first assembly, you can not try too hard so as not to lose interest in the process.
To make the technical part as balanced as possible without the use of complex calculations, you can use a little trick. You can select a specific common model and order accessories for it from the basic list. It is important to specify the correct details when ordering. So, in the order list there must be 2 right rotation motors and 2 left rotation motors.
They must be paired with the corresponding screws - right-handed and left-handed. Otherwise, the device will not function. There is always the possibility that when assembling parts, defective blanks may come across, so some can even be ordered in duplicate in case of replacement. Unlike the factory kits described above, it will not work to assemble such a device from ordinary parts with bare hands and a screwdriver. You will have to work with a soldering iron, glue gun, duct tape and double-sided tape.
Only in this way will it be possible to get the desired quadrocopter. Once a working model has been received, it can be upgraded at will. Add antennas, LEDs, beepers (tweeters) and other details that increase the functionality of your home quadcopter.
Before you rush headlong into assembling your own quadrocopter, evaluate your strengths without breaking away from reality. Consider not only the ability to work with such a dangerous tool as a soldering iron, but also financial capabilities, that is, how much you can spend on accessories for a quadcopter without harming your personal budget. And only after that proceed to vigorous activity.
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