A

PROJECT REPORT ON

FABRICATION OF A DRONE
Submitted to

As a project based on

PROJECT BASED LEARNING

Initiative of the institution

By

M. Bindu

Ayush Jain

Ayush Seth

Ankriti Pandey

Under the Guidance of

Dr. Darukaprasad

Prof. Oswin D’Souza

BMS Institute of Technology & Management, Bangalore

10.01.2019
 Abstract

A Drone is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (U.A.V) that is remotely controlled. It can be

used to attain vertical flights, and can be controlled as per the requirements, with the help

of an RC Controller. They can be used in various fields, particularly for surveillance and

photography in an effective manner.

These days, drones are a popular choice for people who wish to explore the realm of

physics and to put their mettle into some practical action; this has only been possible due to

the fast-paced development in the areas related to low-power microcontrollers, which make

it an accessible option for the tech-savvy. One of the main reasons of its popularity

amongst the technically-oriented is the all-encompassing nature of groundwork it needs, in

addition to the precision which it requires during the process and in its maintenance to be

effective in the long term.

Amongst other things, therefore, the goal of this project is to build, modify, and manoeuvre

a drone to perform aviation. Keeping our objectives in mind, the requisites in our project

were: a frame with motor brackets, brushless motors, propellers, Electronic Speed
Controllers (ESCs), Battery, Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), Flight Controller (Arduino

UNO), RC transmitter.

Four motors were fitted into the brackets with the help of certain expendables mentioned

later in the report; likewise, the propellers were all fitted, two diagonally opposite

propellers oriented in clockwise direction, the other two, anticlockwise. Battery was fitter

in the central platform, whilst ESCs were fitted in the vicinity of the motors. The arduino

UNO FC was programmed to be controlled by the RC transmitter, which take into account

the readings provided by the IMUs.

All of the aforementioned equipments were tested individually, and in sync, to meet the

requirements of the project.

 Declaration

We hereby declare that this project, titled “The fabrication of Drone” is our original work
carried out under the guidance, and indispensable support of Dr. Darukaprasad and Prof.
Oswin D’Souza.

Following are the list of the names of students involved in this project with their
particulars:

Serial no. Name Roll No.

1. Ankriti Pandey 13
2. Ayush Jain 27

3. Ayush Seth 26
4. M. Bindu 64
 Acknowledgement

First and Foremost, we would like to express our utmost gratitude to Dr. Darukaprasand
and Prof. Oswin D’souza for their non-ebbing support and their excellent guidance, without
which the fabrication of this project wouldn’t have been possible. Their inspiring words
and actions have transpired to encourage us to pursue our dream work, and most
importantly, to familiarize ourselves with the nuances and subtleties involved in the
process.

Further, we would like to thank all the staff members involved for their invaluable
suggestions and unwavering support. It indeed, was a great experience to interact with them
as and when the circumstances required.

Last, but not the least, we would like to acknowledge our peers for believing in a
competitive and holistic approach.

Thank you!
 INTRODUCTION

A drone is, essentially, a quadcopter which can be propelled using four propellers, which
can be worked using a battery. These are often classified as rotorcraft, as opposed to fixed-
wing aircrafts, as they use rotors to function.

Fixed pitch propellers are fitted to the frame’s four corners, two clockwise and two
counter-clockwise, to counteract the effect of any possible torque produced. To manoeuvre
the drone properly, control is established individually for rotors so as to establish proper
control on the rotorcraft as a whole, which could ensure smoother transition in direction
and height.

By changing the speed of each rotor, we can produce the desired thrust; by locating the
desired centre of thrust (longitudinally as well as laterally), we can create a desired torque
or turning force.

Advances in electronics made possible the production of accelerometers (IMUs) which

help in improving its manoeuvrability, and thus help in incorporating drones in our daily
lives with greater ease, indoors as well as outdoors.
Mostly, quad-copters are constructed such that they could include camera elements; in this
project, however, these elements are not included.

Elements used in the making of a drone, are as follows (with some of their specifications
and their basic functioning):

Frame: This is used to provide mechanical support to every other part of the drone. These
can be made out of a light metal, wood, plastic or other (preferably light) material
complementing the choice of the power of motor, and the total weight which could be
possibly propelled efficiently.

Motors: We use four motors in total; one for each propeller. Brushless motors are
recommended-they are lighter on the batteries. These are used to convert the electrical
power provided into mechanical power for the propellers.

ESCs/Electronic Speed Controllers: These are used to deliver power to the motors. These
are four in number: their number depends on the number of arms of the drone. As the name
suggests, these are used to control the speed of individual propellers by controlling the
power delivered to the motor.

Propellers: As their name suggests, these are used to propel the UAV so as to achieve
flight, and to stay in flight.

Connectors: These are used to weld the ESCs and the motors (3.5mm) and in the power
distribution board (4.5mm).

Batteries: These are, of course, used to provide electrical power to the motors. While
purchasing batteries for the project, we have to ensure they fulfil the requirements of its
capacity and type. Li-Po batteries are the most popular amongst people.

Controller: This device shares the power and commands the monitor at the same time.

RC Receiver and transmitter: This are used to transmit and receive control signals to and
from the drone.
Along with these, several zip ties, Servo lead wire cables, AWG silicone wires, thread
locking components, Battery Charger is also required.
 Assembly

Once the principal parts of the drone are defined and their specifications listed, assembling
the parts is made much easier.

First, we have to choose a proper frame for the drone if we are not building it ourselves;
using materials such as lightweight metals, plastic, or wood is recommended. Carbon fibre
ones are to be preferred for high efficiency. In this project, we have used metal ready-to
use frame to ensure it is balanced properly and is in sync with the other parts used.

A frame contains a centre holding plate, four arms and four brackets. It has to be study, yet
flexible so that it can withstand the vibrations. In our case, we have used a frame which
also has landing gear attached to it.

The ESC’s, motors and propellers are invariably the key components of a drone; as such,
they must be chosen precariously, such that they are complementary to each other and fit
with the frame bearing capacity, as well as its size.

For propellers, we use nine-inch metal ones to ensure optimal performance; however,
carbon props are to be used if higher performance is the criteria we have to follow. Keeping
this in mind, we have used light metal props that met all our requirements.

Generally, we need 4 ESCs; however, four-in-one ESCs are also available in markets these
days. We have employed these ESCs in our project to reduce complications.

Next, we have to drill the holes in the frame for the motors, according to the distance
between the screws holes on the motors. It would be good to make another hole that will
allow the clip and shaft the motor to move freely-indeed, this is what we have employed in
our project.

Now, we have to connect ESCs to our motor. As recommended, we have attached these to
the underside of the frame using zip-ties. One of the several reasons the upper-side is not to
be used to attach our ESCs is so that we could “unload” it.

Every flying drone must have a control system. This electronic system allows a drone to be
stable in the air while flying and processes all the shifts and changes in direction and wind.
This is achieved by the flight controller.

Alongside choosing a flight controller, we also have to choose a compatible RC TX-RX

(Wireless Remote controlled system). We also need a few channels for yaw, pitch, throttle,
and roll.
Once we choose the particular flight controller, we need to mount it. For instance, we can
place it on the top of the frame in a certain direction, but we need to make sure that all the
components are fixed well before calibrating the drone. For this purpose, we can also use
the aforementioned zip ties.

We have attached a piece of sponge on the underside of the flight controller so that it does
not get affected by the vibrations of the motor.

Now, we have to configure and connect the flight controller to the ESCs. After we do this,
we have to connect it to the RC controller.

We can test the sensors as well as other components of the drone using the special
OpenPilot GCS.

USES OF DRONES

 Drones are used for surveillance by the police or the military.

 Drones can be used for medical help on spot areas on the streets.

 These are frequently used by security agencies to counter insurgency activities.

 These are used for lifting specific weights, for example, 400g.
 Bibliography

Hoffman, G.; Huang, H.; Waslander, S.L.; Tomlin, C.J. (20–23 August 2007).
"Quadrotor Helicopter Flight Dynamics and Control: Theory and Experiment"
(PDF). In the Conference of the American Institute of Aeronautics and
Astronautics. Hilton Head, South Carolina.

"Semi-Autonomous Gesture Controlled UAV Transportation System

http://mydronelab.com/blog/arduino-quadcopter.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=15&v=_0TUCWGuIew

"Armed Quadrotors Are Coming". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 29 December 2014.