₦airaland Forum

[quote author=Bilal post=61949056][/quote]I will discuss this with a few friends and see how they feel about it. Will keep you posted.

So, like earlier mentioned, we need some parts to make this build happen.
I have decided to make a small quadcopter of 250mm size.

Lets discuss the various parts required.

Frame
The frame is the chassis of the quadcopter. On this chassis, every other component is installed (Motors, ESCs, Flight controller, etc).
There are many factors that can influence the choice of a frame. These includes
- Size of quad
- Purpose
- Payload
The choice of frame will determine what motors and propellers you'd use, what size of battery it'd run and the amount of gear it could carry.
Once you make up your mind on the frame to use, you can move onto the next thing; Propellers.

Propellers
Propellers are determined by frame size first before load/thrust care considered. This is because the frame span can only accommodate propellers of particular size to avoid them touching while spinning.
Other features to be considered while choosing props are diameter and pitch. We will discuss this better much later.
When you're done selecting the propellers based on frame size, you'd need to pick your motors.

Motors
Motors are the engines of the quadcopter, spinning the props with instructions from the flight controller to lift the craft.
Motors are classified based on Stator size and KV (KV refers to the rpm constant of a motor - the number of revolutions per minute that the motor will turn when 1V (one Volt) is applied to it with no load attached).
There are standardized charts available online showing motor types/sizes and propeller combination.

Electronic Speed Controller
ESCs interprets the PWM signals from the flight controller or radio receiver, and drives the brushless motor by providing the appropriate level of electrical power. They are rated in Amps (A).
Choice is determined by the estimated maximum current drawn by each motor at full throttle (measured in Amps)
The rule of the thumb here is to choose ESCs with ratings well above the maximum Amp draw of your motors, else failure becomes inevitable.

Flight Controller
A flight controller (FC) is the brain of the aircraft, which is basically a circuit board that has built-in sensors (Gyros, Accelerometers, barometers) that detects orientation changes. It also receives user commands from a Receiver paired to a Transmitter, and controls the motors in order to keep the quadcopter in the air.
FCs are of different kinds usually distiguished by features and capabilities. Cost is also a major maker; the more sophisticated, the more expensive.
While all good FCs can take a quadcopter into the air, the level of control achievable depends on the design of different FCs.
For instance, a NAZE32 FC acro has no kind of computer assited flight like self leveling. The pilot is essentially responsible for ALL control using inputs on the transmitter.
Other FCs like NAZE32 (10DOF), KK2 and Naza can do self level flights. The Naza, using GPS, can achieve amazing stability in the in 3D.

Transmitter and Receiver
These are as their names imply. The transmitter is used to send commands to the FC through the Receiver which is mounted on the Quadcopter and connected to the FC.
Common TX/RX use 2.4GHZ radio band.


In the next post, we will look at the components chosen for this build and possibly discuss them more.

Questions are welcome.

KronicMorris:
Oh yes we can....
Are you building one?

Yes, sure. I have built quite a few but I will start a new build and follow down till completion on this thread.

A quadcopter, also called a quadrotor helicopter or quadrotor, is basically a multi-blade helicopter that is lifted and propelled by four rotors. Quadcopters are classified as rotorcraft, as opposed to fixed-wing aircraft, because their lift is generated by a set of vertically oriented propellers.

Quadcopters generally use two pairs of identical fixed pitched propellers; two clockwise (CW) and two counterclockwise (CCW) se. These use independent variation of the speed of each rotor to achieve control. By changing the speed of each rotor it is possible to specifically generate a desired total thrust; to locate for the centre of thrust both laterally and longitudinally; and to create a desired total torque, or turning force.

Quadcopters are not new. There are several models on sale from various vendors.
Sizes range from tiny machines that can fit into a man's pocket to full-sized models able to lift a full grown man.
These are either flown for fun or used to make aerial photography.

Building a quadcopter on your own is quite an interesting project and requires a lot of work. Basic soldering skills is an advantage.
I can tell since I have made several models.

Basically you would need the following:
Frame (Different sizes available)
Motors (Different sizes here too)
Propellers
ESCs
Battery
Transmitter
Receiver
Battery charger

The idea of this thread is to guide and provide support to interested persons from parts acquisition through to the actually working model.

Hopefully, we can get some machines to fly and have lots of fun in the process.