THE IDEA-
I should probably start with saying that I am sorry for taking so long to post this. I designed this frame well over a year ago, but I have been busy with other stuff and it just got away from me. Anyway, this quadcopter frame is a circuit board, so the FPV gear, control board, and the RC receiver are wired into the frame. I printed it with a circuit router we have at my university. The point was to eliminate all unecessary wires by integrating them into the frame in hopes of making the frame lighter and more durable. My other requirement was to be able to set everything up, from arrival on loaction to being in the air, in under a minute. Overall I would say I definitely achieved this. The video here shows how I made everything...
Ready for flight:
Folded Size:
PORTABILITY-
This frame is a 670 size quadcopter, but folds up to a petite 14"x6". This makes it ultraportable and yet still maintains the ability to carry very heavy equipment, and has a large surface area to mount all sorts of gizmos too. I made this video to show how I can carry everything that I need to the field in one convenient, waterproof case. It will hold my groundstation and everything in one box.
FLIGHT VIDEO-
This is my best flight video I made with this frame. I did it for the pumpkin launch at my school. It was a lot of fun, and I got angles that no one else wanted to because no one wants to get his by a pumpkin for some reason.
THE BUILD-
Now, enough of the boring words, if the videos weren't enough, then here are some pictures of the frame throughout the build process.
Here was my prototype for the KK2 circuit. It runs the motor wires out so you never have to guess which one is correct. This isn't as big of a deal for the KK2 because it has the LCD scree, but it still made setup very easy. The idea is to eventually use this same design for an APM flight controller.
This is the circuit router cutting my frame! I was so excited watching it. These kind of tools are what makes me really not want to graduate.
Here you can see the pins soldered onto the top plate. I had to solder a few jumper wires as well, but overall the frame hardly has any wires.
The frame prepped for painting
I went with blue since it's one of my school's colors.
Since the router digs a ditch in the board, it was very easy to mask off the areas to solder to later.
Again, this frame was supposed make it easy for younger people to get involved in multirotors. So I labeled everything on the board.
I recovered the ESCs because I replaced the motor wires with a little heavier gauge. I also shorted the signal wires so they wouldn't be hanging everywhere.
This power distribuition works extremely well and keeps everything tidy.
FUTURE PROJECTS-
This project will hopefully be able to be produced by the BERSTD program (Broad Engagement Robotic Spiral Demo Team). They are the people who originally started my interest in multirotors and provided the funding for my first quadcopter. The idea is to make a box of parts, and then send it to a school in the area and then have them assemble the parts for a competition.
If you have any questions about the circuit board part, or the quad in general, then just let me know.
If you'd like to see other videos I've made, you can check out my website at:
codyalger.wix.com/sluquad
Or you can check out my YouTube channel. Thanks!!!
Eagle files for routing the boards:
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