Quadcopter
In 2018 I designed and built a quadcopter based on rules and regulations by the Oklahoma Engineering Foundation for the Engineering Fair. The quadcopter had to be under $100 and the competition was to see what drone could lift the most weight. My main focus of the project was to learn how quadcopters worked and to build one from scratch.
I ended up getting 2nd place in the state for the quadcopter I built and I was able to go to the Federal Aviation Administration to learn more about flight and space.
When I first started the project, I started at a much smaller scale to get a basic understanding of how quadcopters work. I took apart and studied a pre-made quadcopter that I had. I then ordered some parts and made a prototype of my final quadcopter design to see how well it worked and to test code.
After I made my prototype, I ordered much bigger parts to make a larger quadcopter. This was so that the quadcopter could handle lifting more weight. One of the larger issues I ran into was the quadcopter leaning to one side whenever it was taking off. I was able to correct it enough so that it would fly for the competition after much research on the issue. I also had many safety measures in place when testing it. For example, when lifting off it was always attached to weight via a string so that I could control where it flew. I also had a separate power switch that allowed me to turn off the power if something went wrong.
Build Process
Steps to Build
1. Research parts needed for under $100
2. Research how to build it on YouTube (links below)
3. Solder ESCs to Power Distribution Board
4. Solder ends onto ESCs
5. Solder Battery lead to PDB
6. Attach the arms and landing gear to PDB
7. Attach Motors to Arms
8. Connect all three motor wires to ESCs
9. Cable Tie wires and ESCs to arms
10. Check motor order and rotation
11. determine the type of blades to put on and rotation
12. calibrate flight controller in mission planner
13. update firmware
14. confirm that motors work and that it powers on
15. Attach Flight Controller
16. Code Arduino and keep testing code
17. Determine how to control without the remote
Research Links
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zgKRQ-jxSUE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DosS0QgNnls
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30cCs4aHdB0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ir0OZmRPpyU
https://quadmeup.com/generate-ppm-signal-with-arduino/
http://ardupilot.org/copter/docs/connect-escs-and-motors.html
(For parts list see the Engineering Notebook)
Flight Process
1. Make sure both sides (positive and negative) are plugged into battery 2. Make sure all is clear around the drone
3. Flip Switch to power on
4. That will then power the Flight Controller and Arduino
5. The ESCs will calibrate when you hear a high-pitched ‘beep’ 6. In approx. 12 seconds after power (the ‘beep’) the drone will begin to fly, during those 12 seconds the Arduino is sending the code to the flight controller