Quadcopter Basics
Having attracted towards flying machines from my childhood, I always wanted to make a copter or some flying machine for myself. So I decided to learn some basics for building one. I went through some stuff on the internet and found a Quadcopter would be cool !
In here let us see what a quadcopter is and its basics. There are different models of quadcopters. But to begin with let us see a simple model.The below image shows one.
Basically a Quadcopter is a quadrotor helicopter that is lifted and propelled by four rotors. Unlike helicopters they use symmetrically pitched blades. Control of vehicle motion is achieved by altering the pitch and/or rotation rate of one or more rotor discs, thereby changing its torque load and thrust/lift characteristics. Check the image below for the principle behind the quad’s motion.
As you can see, the motors 1 and 4 rotate in CW direction while 3 and 2 rotate CCW thus creating a downward thrust which lifts the quad. By varying the speed of the 4 rotors various movements are possible. There are three important terms mentioned above namely the YAW , ROLL and PITCH which we must have a clear concept of before understanding the quad’s movement.
Here Yaw = Rudder , Roll = Aileron and Pitch = Elevator. Having these in mind, Look at the following image to get knowledge of the various motions of the quadcopter.
Check the notes section of the above image for the motor control mechanism for particular movement of quad.
Having done with the basic quad’s principle and movement, Lets us see what are the basic parts necessary to construct a quadcopter.
Frame :
This is the most basic and important part of the quadcopter. You can mount your brushless motors, power cells and other electronic equipement on it easily. You can even create your own frame. Just make sure your frame is firm and stable.
Brushless Motors :
Brushless motors are commonly used in RC. Brushless motors have three wires. These wires control the motor’s three phases. When connecting the motor to it’s ESC (Electronic Speed Controller), it doesn’t actually matter how you connect the wires to let it spin because you want two motors to rotate CW and other two to rotate CCW. So it is just by trail and error method you fix these wires.
Electronic Speed Controller (ESC) :
The three-phased brushless motor are controlled by the Electronic Speed Controller (ESC). The ESC has three pairs of wires: current supply(2 thick) / motor wires (3 thick) / controller wire (3 small).
Propellers :
For your quadcopter, you’ll need a equal numbers of CW (clowckwise) and CCW (counter-clockwise) propellers. This will ensure that your copter will not spin around.
Control Board :
A multicopter control board is the essential part of your multicopter. It’s the heart of the copter and controls the motor’s independently and corrects for equal balancing.
Transmitter and Receiver :
You will need a transmitter and a receiver to control you copter. There are a wide variety of channels of transmitter available. Four channels is enough for a multicopter in general.
Batteries : Lithium Polymer batteries are used for powering your multicopter. LiPo batteries are available in wide range. The one that fits your need can be used.
So that is all you need to create a Quadcopter. I’m will post the construction of my quad as soon as I complete it.
Check Videos of quadcopter on Youtube. There are various stunts that can be performed with these
Check Videos of quadcopter on Youtube. There are various stunts that can be performed with these
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