PVC BattleQuad
At it's core, the PVC 'BattleQuad' is a KK2.0 FC mounted atop a DJI F450 power distribution plate. The inspiration comes from a thread started by HelliYea on the OpenPilot forums (http://forums.openpilot.org/topic/13503-battlequad/). My frame and motors are pretty much identical to those in the thread. The differences between my build and the forum;
- I'm using the KK2.0 (pardon the blasphemy). I'd use the CC3D but I don't have one yet.
- 30A Hobbyking ESCs.
- I designed a custom top plate from 3mm perspex instead of using the DJI F450 top plate.
I decided to design a custom top plate for two main reasons;
- Easy access to the I/O pins (receiver and ESC) and menu keys.
- So I can see the LCD screen of the KK2.0 FC and still have it mounted on the bottom plate nice and protected.
To design the custom top board, I used the Inkscape software package and Ponoko online "making" service. Ponoko divides the costs into three areas 1) Material, 2) Cutting and 3) Postage. I found material and cutting quite reasonable but the postage was the killer. The postage was almost as much as as the materials and cutting combined.
I'm looking forward to getting the OpenPilot Revo board and swapping out the KK2.0 board. The way the bottom power distribution board drops out, it should be fairly easy to swap boards over.
The main parts list:
- 15mm PVC pipe
- DJI F450 Flamewheel bottom plate (integrated power distribution).
- NTM 28-26 1350kv motors
- Hobbyking 30A ESC 3A UBEC
- 8” Slow Fly Electric Prop (8045, 8045R)
- KK2.0 flight controller
- Turnigy High Density R/C LED Flexible Strip
- Zippy Compact 4S 3300 mAH 35C Lipo Pack
PROGRESS UPDATES
18th Jan 2013 - SO far I've done just a quick hover in the backyard and everything went ok. With a lot of yaw input, I found it not so stable in the vertical axis (it would jump up and gain height).
Things I still need to do;
- Put four 3mm bolts through the T-piece where the two lengthwise arms connect. I've found there's a lot of flex allowing the whole frame to distort.
- Put some velcro on the rear part of the top frame for the battery. The two velcro strips going around the battery are ok but I need something to stop the battery sliding sideways.
- Install the FPV gear. I've got another custom mount being made from 3mm perspex to hold the FPV cam, GoPro, VTx, 12V regulator and 1000vmAh 3S battery (optional). I'm hoping to use this seperate FPV mount as an interchangeable module to easily move the FPV gear between quads.
- Flash the ESCs with SimonK firmware.
- Cut the arms down to size (removing the PVC past the motor mounts).
The basic frame, four T pieces and 8 lengths of 15mm PVC tube.
The FC is mounted to the F450 power distribution (bottom) plate using Sikaflex (sorta like silicone but better). The bottom plate is then attached to the frame using 3mm screws via the original holes in the plate.
The custom design top plate laser cut from 3mm perspex is intended to offer some degree of protection to the KK2.0 board while allowing access to all the pins and menu buttons. In this photo, the perspex still has the protective layer of brown paper covering the top plate as it's fresh out of the pack from Ponoko.
