Introduction: DIY (Drone It Yourself) Kit V1.0

The DIY (Drone It Yourself) v1.0 kit offers you the opportunity to turn any object into a drone (or technically, an UAV). The kit consists of multiple parts that are easy to assemble and can be attached to a wide range of different objects.

For more advanced uses, you can take the original designs and alter the kit by making your own custom clamps or add-ons as needed.

The plastic parts have been 3D printed in ABS. The control unit contains a receiver, four ESCs, a bluetooth module and an Flight Controller. I've provided a list of the hardware and electronic parts I've been using, but feel free to try your own combination.

Watch a video of the kit in action below or continue to the next step.



Step 1: The 3D Parts

Lets start with an overview of all the 3D printed parts.
I recommend printing them in ABS or something similarly strong and durable. I printed them in ABS with a fill of around 50% and a rectangular mesh, but I think printing them with slightly more fill might be better. It will not increase the weight that much (all the printed parts are pretty light) and might increase the strength quite a bit.

Inside the DIY_files.zip file you will find:
* The orignal SolidWorks files
* STL files that are ready to be printed
* Renders of all the 3D files to get an idea of what they look like – please note they are all rendered at different scales.

For the basic kit, you will need the following parts:

4 x motor_mount – the part that holds the motor
4 x clamp.stl – the main body of the clamp
4 x clamp_bar.stl – the small block that forms the other end of the clamp
4 x bolt_handle.stl – a
1 x box_top.stl
1 x box_bottom.stl

Optionally you can also print the extender.stl file 4 times. This extender can be used to create a bit of extra space between to propellors to prevent them from hitting each other. I have used these in the kit you see in the photos as well.


Continue to the next step for the nuts, bolts and washers needed.

Attachments

Step 2: Screws / Nuts / Bolts

To put everything together, you will need some nuts, bolts and washers. They are all standard parts so you shouldn't have too much problem finding them, but I've provided the item numbers for rs-online.com for your convenience.

You will need:
16 x Plain washer, M3 (4 for each motor) – 189-620
16 x Hex socket cap screw, M3x20mm (4 for each motor) – 293-325
4 or 8 x Wing nut, M4 (1 for each clamp, or 2 if you use the extenders) – 521-850
8 / 16 x Plain washer, M4 (2 for each clamp, or 4 if you use the extenders) – 189-636
4 / 8 x Hex socket cap screw, M4x30mm (1 for each clamp, or 2 if you use the extenders) – 290-118
4 x Hex bolt, M4x60mm (1 for each clamp) – 279-571
4 x Mex nut, M6 (1 for each clamp) – 189-591

Step 3: Assembling the Clamps

After removing any excess material left over from printing, assemble the clamp by putting the M6 nut in the hole at the bottom and glue it in place. Next, slide the bolt_handle over the M6 bolt and glue it in place as well. When the glue has dried you can screw the bolt in, and put the clamp_bar on top of the bolt.
Don't worry if the clamp_bar can rotate: this will actually make it easier for you to attach the clamp to an object.

Next step: connecting the motors to the motor mounts.

Step 4: Attaching the Motors to the Motor Mounts

Use the M3 bolts and washers to connect the motors to the motor_mount. Pay attention to the position of the holes: at first glance all the holes seem to be spaced out evenly, but actually the distance between the holes differs.

The motor mount has a small indentation next to the motor which you can use for an 8mm spiritlevel (check ebay). I left them out in the end, because I found out the orientation of the motors isn't that important as long as they are somewhat pointing upward.

Next step: the electronics.

Step 5: The Electronics

All of the electronics (apart from the motors of course) go inside the box.

You will need the following components:

4 x Motor
1 x Propeller kit (2 times left and 2 times right rotating)
1 x Propeller accessory pack
4 x ESC (electronic speed controller)
1 x Radio receiver (with a minimum of four channels)
1 x Flight Controller
See the lest step of this instructable for the components I used.

Basically the circuit is something like this (see the image for a visual overview):

The battery plug connects to all of the ESCs. Each ESC is connected to a motor by its three thick wires. It's thin wires (power, ground and signal) go to the output pins on the flight controller. This provides the flight controller with power, and the ESC with a signal from the controller. Plug the ESC into the controller starting with the one connected to the left front motor, then the right front, right back and ending with the left back.

Depending on the actual hardware, it might be best to not have four power wires going to your flight controller (one from each ESC). It's better to be safe than sorry, so CUT ALL BUT ONE of the thin power wires from the ESCs (again, please see the image).

The radio receiver is connected to the input of the flightcontroller, which also provides the receiver with power. The way you have to plug it in might be different from controller to controller, so check your manual.

If your flight controller supports it, you can plug in an optional bluetooth module to connect to the controller without a cable. I would really advise getting a flight controller that supports this, because it lets you change the settings of the controller without having to open the box every time.

When you are done, put everything inside the box. Put the M3 nuts in the holes at the bottom of the box and put in the screws from the top. Be sure to check the front of the flight controller is pointing towards the direction you want to fly in, and when you close the lid, check if the arrow on top is also pointing in this direction.

At this point, you should be able to let your motors spin (make sure you don't attach any propellers!) to see if they are rotating in the right direction. The front left and back right motors have to move clockwise, the other two anti-clockwise (this is also indicated on the lid of the box). If a motor doesn't spin the right way, just switch any two of its three cables.

When I was done, I used some white wire wrap to keep the cables together.

Step 6: Connecting the Motors to the Clamps

The easiest way to do this next step, is to first connect the clamps to your object, than connect the motor mounts to the clamps, and lastly fix the box in place with some tie wraps.

The motor mount objects are designed in such a way that you can use them in different orientations, simply by rotating the mount. Do keep in mind the propellers always have to face upward.

If the propellers are too close to each other (for instance when you want to fly a small object) you can use the extender to create some more space to prevent the propellers from hitting each other.

After sliding the motor_mount into the clamp, you can fix it with a M4 bolt and wing nut. Don't forget to use a washer on each side, and don't tighten the wing nut too much: you just want to prevent the motor_mount from sliding out.

Tip: if the motor_mount is too loose (depending on your printer some parts might not be printed perfectly for instance), you can slide a piece of folded paper in between the motor mount and the clamp to make it fit snuggly.

Next step: Go!

Step 7: Go!

Now that everything is in place, use some tie wraps to fix the box and do the same with the battery!

Depending on the flight controller you might have to adjust some settings or level the controller. This is where the bluetooth module comes in handy. You can also limit the object you're flying to things that are flat, so the box is already level.

So now that you are all done: go outside and fly! Or go to the next step to make a case for your kit.

Step 8: The Case

I used a simpel aluminium and wooden case to store the kit. First I took out the thin rubber that was already inside and then took all of the needed measurements. I stacked multiple layers of thick foam - which I cut to size with a lasercutter - to be able to fill the whole case.
The top two layers (both of 20 milimeters thick) had some extra shapes cut out that let me put in all of the 3D printed objects.

In this case all of the holes are about 1 millimeter smaller than the actual printed parts, this ensures they won't fall out. You might want to change this offset depending on the foam / laser you might be using.

Step 9: List of Electronics

Apart from the parts below you will need a flight controller. I've been using the opensource OpenPilot CC3D. More info on the OpenPilot project can be found on openpilot.org - especially in the forums. At this moment OpenPilot doesn't sell the CC3D themselves anymore, but there are some 3rd party companies that sell clones - with permission. Some of the options are discussed in this thread: http://forums.openpilot.org/topic/30603-cc3d-availability/

For the rest of the kit, I've tried to keep costs down and used parts that are easy to order online, but I shouldn't be any problem to use some other types.

Motor:
NTM Prop Drive Series 28-26A 1200kv / 250w
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__17345__NTM_Prop_Drive_Series_28_26A_1200kv_250w.html

Propellers:
10x4.5 SF Props 2pc Standard Rotation/2 pc RH Rotation (Black)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__25824__10x4_5_SF_Props_2pc_Standard_Rotation_2_pc_RH_Rotation_Black_.html

Prop accessory pack:
NTM Prop Drive 28 Series Accessory Pack
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__16719__NTM_Prop_Drive_28_Series_Accessory_Pack.html

ESC:
TURNIGY Plush 30amp Speed Controller
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=2164

Turnigy 9X 9Ch Transmitter w/ Module & 8ch Receiver (Mode 2) (v2 Firmware)
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__8992__Turnigy_9X_9Ch_Transmitter_w_Module_8ch_Receiver_Mode_2_v2_Firmware_.html

Turnigy nano-tech 3000mah 3S 25~50C Lipo Pack
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__11919__Turnigy_nano_tech_3000mah_3S_25_50C_Lipo_Pack.html

Turnigy Accucel-8 150W 7A Balancer/Charger
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__7523__Turnigy_Accucel_8_150W_7A_Balancer_Charger.html

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