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3D Printed Quadcopter with Arduino

by Nolan5454 on October 8, 2014

Table of Contents
3D Printed Quadcopter with Arduino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Intro: 3D Printed Quadcopter with Arduino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 1: Acquiring Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 2: Deigning the Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 3: Designing the Arms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

File Downloads . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 4: Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 5: Wiring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 6: Propeller Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Step 7: Flight . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Related Instructables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Advertisements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Quadcopter-with-Arduino/

Intro: 3D Printed Quadcopter with Arduino

Lately the news has been buzzing with stories of drone technology. Be it for delivery, recreation, or for military purposes unmanned flight is the future of aviation.
Beginning in December 2013, I began working on a drone with several of my friends. We have created a drone that is 100% our own design. Using Autodesk Inventor we
designed, drafted, and printed each part of our copter's frame. We converted our files from .DWG to .X3G file, allowing us to print our frame on a Makerbot 2x Replicator.
All of the external wiring was done and reviewed by each person working on the copter. This was made three others. Their instructable accounts are BobBurghart
CoreyOrlovsky and Rnpauls.

Step 1: Acquiring Components

Before any of our frame could be designed, we needed to consider the size, shape, and placement of all components. Our design is centered around an ArduPilot 2.5. In
addition to this, we have one power distribution board, four speed controllers, four motors, and an FM receiver that must stay safely on the copter. All of these are kept
safely inside of our frame, and will not be vulnerable to crashes.

http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Quadcopter-with-Arduino/

Step 2: Deigning the Center

Our center was designed to fit all components and allow no movement upon crashes. The bottom part of our frame was designed to house both the battery and power
distribution board. The top of our frame was designed with compartments for our Arduino, FM Receiver, and GPS. Both were designed on Autodest Inventor and printed
on a Makerbot 2x Replicator under high quality settings with the bed heated to 100 degrees Celsius and the extrusion head at 240 degrees Celsius. We used PLA plastic
as opposed to ABS because PLA is more durable. Attached are the files for the center of our quad copter.

File Downloads

Quadcopterbottom.ipt (292 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Quadcopterbottom.ipt']

Quadcoptertop.ipt (319 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Quadcoptertop.ipt']

Step 3: Designing the Arms

Our frame and arms were designed to fit together using 3 screws per arm. Our arms are 21 centimeters long and were designed with triangular honeycombing to create a
more aerodynamic device while maintaining structural integrity. Our motor mounts were designed to house our motors in case our housings were to fly off, and to keep
the bottom of our motors attached with screw holes for our motors. They were designed using Autodesk Inventor, and printed using the same settings as our previous
prints. The file attached is an Inventor file of our arm.

http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Quadcopter-with-Arduino/

File Downloads

Quadcopterarm.ipt (298 KB)

[NOTE: When saving, if you see .tmp as the file ext, rename it to 'Quadcopterarm.ipt']

Step 4: Printing
Export all files as .STL files from Autodesk Inventor's file type .IPT. From here we open Makerware software and scale all files to 100%. Set to the settings described in
Steps 1 and 2, then save the printable file onto a secure digital (SD) card. Put this into your printer, and wait for the prints to finish. ALWAYS HIGH QUALITY! RAFTS
ON!

Step 5: Wiring
Plug the Battery into the PDB and the PDB into all speed controlled motors. Make sure that the polarity is swapped on the "push motors ( motors on opposing corners
with pull propellers) The wiring is quite straightforward:
1) Plug battery to APM Power Management cable, and APM power cable connected to the APM power input, the Deans connector should be out from Power
Management cable to the Quad copter Power Distribution Board
2) ESC are to be hooked into the Quad copter Power Distribution board
3) The PDB should lead to all speed controllers and motors
4) The receiver should be plugged to the APM, Set all control components and plug them into their corresponding ports.
Many copters have been made using this setup.

Step 6: Propeller Setup

All propellers rotating clockwise should be push propellers (motors 3 and 4 in the diagram), and all props rotating counter clockwise should be normal propellers ( motors
1 and 2 in the diagram). Ensure that you have proper motors for your copter and proper propellers for your copter. Our propellers are 10.5" props that have effectively
lifted our machine.

http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Quadcopter-with-Arduino/

Step 7: Flight
Now that you've created your quad copter, it is time for flight! Our machine is flyable by either GPS or FM transmitter. Have fun!

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Comments
2 comments

Add Comment

seamster says:

Oct 9, 2014. 9:19 AM REPLY

Very nicely done!

Kingz18 says:
Awesome Intructable! Great use of the 3D printer!!!!!

http://www.instructables.com/id/3D-Printed-Quadcopter-with-Arduino/

Oct 9, 2014. 6:03 AM REPLY