How to Assemble a Drone

Contributors:

• Jason Chang

• Anson Lee

• Noah Lin

Project Introduction

This is the whole structure of my project, and it shows all the parts.

All the Materials

• Motors

• Electronic speed control

• Flight controller

• The drone frame

• Propellers

• Batteries

• Connectors

• Camera

• Gimbal

• A mounting pad

• A micro SD card

1. CONSTRUCT A FRAME

You can use whichever materials you like to construct the drone frame, just make sure to pick materials which can hold structure and shape, such as wood, plastic or metal. For a quadcopter, you’ll need to make your frame into an X shape, and each propeller will go on each point of the ‘X’.

2. ASSEMBLE YOUR DRONE’S MOTORS

For this step, you’ll need to make holes in your frame for the motors. Then, fix the motor to the frame with screws and a screwdriver.

If you’re building a drone from a kit, you may find that the motors come with mounts that make it easier for you to affix them to the frame.

3. MOUNT YOUR ELECTRONIC SPEED CONTROLLERS (ESCS)

After attaching the motors, you’ll need to attach your ESCs to the bottom of your drone’s frame. This will free up more space for other components to be added to the top.

4. ATTACH THE LANDING GEAR

You’ll need to attach landing gear to your drone to absorb the shock when it lands on solid ground. This will help you to avoid any costly repairs and accidents with your drone!

Be sure to opt for a material that’s both flexible and strong, such as plastic, so that it absorbs the shock and doesn’t break.

5. ADD YOUR FLIGHT CONTROLLER

A flight controller is an essential for any drone. This allows your drone to stay stable whilst in flight, and make sense of all the shifts and changes in the wind. You can make these yourself, however, it’s easier to get a ready-made controller if it’s your first time building a drone from scratch.

Once you’ve found the right controller, you need to mount it to your drone. Make sure to attach a piece of sponge underneath the controller to reduce the vibrations coming from the drone.

6. CONNECT SOFTWARE TO YOUR DRONE

The software allows you to control and test UAVs, however, you’ll need to connect your ESCs to your flight controller and also connect your drone to the remote control first. You’ll need to find a tutorial online for your specific flight controller for this step.

Once you’ve done this, you can connect software to your drone and check that everything is working via the software.