Bennett, Josiah
Capstone
Final Paper Draft
3D Printed Aerial Drone
The project that I have decided to make to complete my capstone is a 3D
printed aerial drone. The drone’s body is made up mainly of 3D printed parts.
When coupled with the electronic components the drone will be able to fly. When
the drone is flying around it has the ability to carry a G0 Pro camera attached to a
mount that can capture video. With the ability to create images from the video
captured it will be possible to make a 3D model of the campus or anywhere it is
flown.
There are many different reasons why I have chosen this project with the
main one being my interest in drone technology as well as 3D printing. Recently
there have been many recent developments in drone technology that has turned
drones into a hot product. With Amazon recently announcing that they were going
to look into performing small package delivery via drone in the next couple years
the impression is given that drones are here to stay.
The question probably remaining left unanswered is probably why 3D
printing. 3D printing has been around for numerous years and has opened up a
plethora of new possibilities and abilities once thought impossible. Action movies
are synonymous with demonstrating the ability to print a copy of someone’s face as
a mask as a way of getting by security. For years this simply wasn’t feasible with the
technology lacking the ability to complete the task. Over the past 10 years 3D
printing has made leaps and bounds to develop the ability to make almost anything.
There are 3D printers being developed to print everything from mechanical parts to
food items.
3D Systems entered into an agreement with Hershey to explore the ways 3D
printing could help with Hershey’s candy production. If this agreement is successful
it could open up hundreds of doors for other candy producers. It could completely
revamp the way they make candy. NASA has even come onboard 3D printing by
contracting Systems & Materials Research to build a 3D printer that can print a
pizza. The possibilities are growing nearly endless for 3D printing technology.
The project had many goals right from the start. The first thing I wanted to
figure out was how difficult it would be overall to complete the project. With 3D
printers coming down in price they are becoming more accessible to the general
population. MakerBot is a company that has been in the 3D printing industry for
years, and has established themselves as one of the best. Founded in 2009,
MakerBot went from selling kits to selling 5 different models in less than 3 years.
With MakerBot’s rise and decreasing technology prices; MakerBot’s cheapest model
is $1,375. While that may not seem cheap consider the fact that their most
expensive and newest printers falls at $6,500.
Another goal I had for the project was learning about the drone aspect of the
project. For my project I decided to use a quad copter design. A quad copter is
similar to a helicopter except for the fact that instead of two propellers there are
four. Each propeller helps to balance out the others while also slowing or speeding
up to provide directional input. While we hear about drones flying in Afghanistan
and Syria all the time they are a rare sight to see in the United States. The reason for
this being that there are numerous laws set fourth by the FAA about what can fly in
our airspace. With the numerous flights being made each and every day whether by
commercial or recreational pilots our airspace is a dangerous place. Drone
technology is a fairly new addition to the possible air traffic found in our skies that
has very little coverage in regulation yet. As of right now personal drones are
labeled as R/C vehicles and as such are not allowed to climb to an altitude of more
than 400 feet. This limit in height is fairly reasonable considering the fact that
above 400 feet visibility of the object becomes exponentially more difficult. The
realistic viewpoint of drone technology is that it can either be used as an advantage
or used in a negatively viewed fashion. By accomplishing this goal I learned about
how the technology can be used for both good as well as evil.
A third goal that was set for the project was to learn about the electronics
side of computing. The project contains multiple electronic components to make the
drone function properly. Among the components involved there were: Ardupilot,
CVCs, motors, batteries, and a power distribution board. All of these components
need to combine together at the right voltages to power the quad copter drone.
Making the electronics work together is the major portion of the project that
initially I had a hard time wrapping my head around. Personally I have never had a
strong background dealing with the electronics side of a project like this. I have
always dealt with either kits or projects that the voltages are guaranteed. With this
project I had to work to figure out if electric components would work with one
another.
Developing the quadcopter drone took around three months due to time
constraints and other issues. The first phase of the project dealt with research.
There are many designs to make a quad copter drone and now was no exception.
The quad copter arms can be arranged in multiple ways to accommodate these
multiple designs. Some designs require propeller protection to keep the propellers
from breaking in the event of a crash. Other designs allow the propellers to be
unprotected to allow for a more lightweight design.
I faced a lot of issues while undertaking this project. I didn’t have much
experience in the electronics field and this kept me conservative in my approach to
the project. I didn’t want to connect stuff to battery power only to fry the circuits in
an expensive board. Another problem I experienced during the project was with the
Ardupilot board. The compass that contains the GPS refused to pick up satellites for
it to give a location to the ardupilot. This was a problem because the Ardupilot
would be difficult to control without accurate location management ability.
A fourth problem I experienced came at the end of the project. The receiver
that was supposed to transfer all control inputs made from the RC remote didn’t
come with servo connectors. This meant that the RC inputs wouldn’t be received.
Simply put this was an oversight on my part for assuming that the cables would
have come with the receiver. A final issue that limited how much progress I could
have at one time was a health issue. I ended up developing a health issue that
required me to make multiple trips out of town. These multiple trips limited how
much progress I could get out of working on the project along with other homework
throughout the week. With other classes giving homework alongside my project It
was very important to manage my time and complete everything in a timely order.
The most important part of my project is probably one of the most boring
topics as well. Learning the rules and regulations of owning and flying a UAV drone.
The airspace of the United States as well as all other countries contain many rules
and regulations as to what can fly there and at what altitude. While these rules and
regulations are there for safety they can also limit the ability to perform certain
actions as well. Currently UAV drones used for private use are only limited by three
regulations. They are only allowed to fly up to 400ft. and they cannot be used for
commercial purposes. They are also prohibited from flying near airports for good
reason.
While these limitations are in place they aren’t back breakers for my project.
While the height limit of 400ft. suits my needs sufficiently there are others who
decide to go above the limits. The commercial limitation does however limit my
project possibility in benefiting the CIST program. By using these flights as
advertisement material they would fall under the classification of commercial use
due to the University being for profit.
There aren’t many regulations yet; because it is only recently that the
industry has expanded. While many people have embraced the new technology
there are others who are concerned about the abilities it provides. Concerns have
been raised due to the fact that it opens the possibility for privacy to be
compromised. Currently the Parrot AR.drone contains a camera that allows for
users to get a birds eye view from their drones. It is also possible build drones with
a camera installed and use it to spy through windows. While these concerns are
mainly centered around speculation the FAA is currently working on more
regulation for drones.
The electronics portion of the project was the most difficult in my eyes. The
electronics portion of the project required careful attention to detail to make sure
everything could work together successfully. A Turnigy 1700mah battery powers
the project’s electronic components. The battery is connected to an XT60 connector.
The XT60 connector is basically a throughput that on one end will connect to the
battery and the other will continue on to the power distribution center. The
importance of this part lies in the center where there is a connector shrink-wrapped
to allow power output to other components. In my project this power connecter
runs to my Ardupilot board to provide first power to my autopilot system.
After power is provided to my autopilot board the power then runs to the
power distribution center. When the power reaches the distribution center it
outputs at a maximum of 20 Amps per connection. This means that the distribution
board that was used can output a maximum of 80 Amps total. By providing power
through the power distribution board the need to run individual power leads to
each engine is removed. This allows for fewer components, which means a reduced
weight of the total aircraft.
The assembly of the aircraft was a long drawn out process because of the
research that needed to go into the project as well as time constraints. Setbacks that
came out of the woodwork such as the Ardupilot refusing to connect to GPS
satellites also put the project behind time-wise. The parts that had to be 3D printed
took time to produce since 3D printing is a slow and precise process. The 3D printer
also had problems in the beginning of the project. When using 3D printing often it is
a good idea to use a mesh to provide support for the print. In the beginning of the
project there was an issue with the print sliding off the mesh thus hurting structural
stability.
The body parts of the project are assembled using nylon screws and nuts.
Nylon screws were used to help keep the weight low. While metal screws aren’t
extremely heavy alone the weight can add up to a lot. My quadcopter design ended
up having three levels at the center of the arms. A three level quad was chosen
because it will allow for the wiring to be spread out more. By allowing more airflow
over the components it will allow for less heat buildup.
After the assembly of the body the electronics come next. The very first thing
that should be done is loading the Ardupilot with firmware. In order to load the
firmware a program called Mission Planner. Mission Planner allows for the loading
of firmware that allows for multiple propeller configurations as well as usage
parameters. Once installed a screen appears that gives an overview of information
that currently means nothing.
Connecting the Ardupilot to the computer via the included USB cable allows
the Ardupilot to send data back to the display. When the GPS is connected this data
could be in the form of a location of the Ardupilot. After connecting the Ardupilot
the firmware will be exported to the device and installed. By selecting four
propellers multi-rotor aircraft the firmware tailors itself for that purpose. Once this
is complete the overview screen will output data such as altitude as well as speed.
These are all pieces of data that are crucial to creating a quad copter. Once the quad
copter is setup it is time to add power to the Ardupilot.
The Ardupilot is connected to the battery by way of an XT60 cable. The XT60
cable is a cable that provides a throughput for the power distribution center with a
power connection module in the middle. The power connection module has a port
that a power connector connects to and then runs to the Ardupilot board to provide
power. Once this is connected the Ardupilot can be powered from battery instead of
the USB port.
After the Ardupilot is battery powered the next part of the project centers
around the power distribution module. The power distribution module contains
four connections for power bullet connectors as well as the battery connection
connector. Each of the four ESCs is soldered to the connectors for power. If the
ESCs aren’t soldered they have the possibility to blow the power distribution
module thus rendering it useless.