I'm calling this quadcopter design The Crossbow because of the huge number of people who have thought that's what it was while I'm carrying it around campus.
Right now I'm just testing it and working on the software using only two rotors. This design is modular so I can attach whichever arms I want.
Here's an idea for what I started with in the design process:
This is the flight computer module:
And the body with the two arms attatched.
Building any radio controlled vehicle is usually a money intensive endeavor. When you're building one that flies, is computer controlled (and will hopefully soon be autonomous) it goes to reason that it will be extremely expensive. Some quadcopters are literally tens of thousands of dollars because they use electronics like this. For my quadcopter I wanted to keep the cost as low as possible but still create a reliable platform for future development. I started with the aeroquad project and have done a lot of research on diydrones. Here's the spreadsheet I made before ordering everything (thanks google docs):
| Hobby King | Total: | $150.73 | |||
| What is it | part | # | unit $ | total | |
| motor | TowerPro Brushless Outrunner 2410-09 13A / 104W | 4 | $6.39 | $25.56 | link |
| esc | Turnigy Plush 10A ESC | 4 | $9.24 | $36.96 | link |
| 3prop 8x4 CCW | GWS HD8040 3 Blade Prop Counter Rotate | 1 | $2.79 | $2.79 | link |
| 3prop 8x4 CW | GWS HD8040 3 Blade Prop | 1 | $2.79 | $2.79 | link |
| 3prop 8x5 CCW | GWS HD9050 3 Blade Prop Counter Rotate | 1 | $2.79 | $2.79 | link |
| 3prop 8x5 CW | GWS HD8050 3 Blade Prop | 1 | $2.79 | $2.79 | link |
| batt | ZIPPY Flightmax 2200mAh 3S1P 20C | 2 | $11.99 | $23.98 | link |
| warning | Hobby King Battery Monitor 3S | 1 | $3.99 | $3.99 | link |
| charger | Turnigy 2S 3S Balance Charger 110/240v | 1 | $11.95 | $11.95 | link |
| lipo sack | Lithium Polymer Charge Pack 18x22cm Sack | 1 | $5.99 | $5.99 | link |
| 2mm heat shrink | Turnigy 2mm Heat Shrink Tube - BLACK (1mtr) | 2 | $0.35 | $0.7 | link |
| 3mm heat shrink | Turnigy 3mm Heat Shrink Tube - BLACK (1mtr) | 2 | $0.35 | $0.7 | link |
| boom | HK-500GT Tail Boom | 4 | $2.2 | $8.8 | link |
| Sparkfun | Total: | $132.59 | |||
| What is it | part | # | unit $ | total | |
| arduino | Arduino Pro Mini 328 - 5V/16MHz | 1 | $18.95 | $18.95 | link |
| IMU | IMU 6DOF Razor - Ultra-Thin IMU | 1 | $89.95 | $89.95 | link |
| headers | Break Away Headers - Straight | 1 | $2.5 | $2.5 | link |
| charger 1s | LiPoly Charger - Single Cell 3.7-7V Input | 1 | $16.95 | $16.95 | link |
