Mind / Iron
by Bryan Bergeron, Editor ª
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ERVO FOR THE ROBOT INNOVATOR
6 SERVO 08.2016
Those of you that are into training and physical fitness know that it’s
not about getting from A to B, but
how you get there that matters. If
you’re training for a 10K road race,
for example, it’s one thing to train
running 10K at an easy pace and
another to mix it up with sprints and
other speed work.
It’s the same for robotics. If you
want to get into drones, you can stop
by RadioShack, plunk down $50, and
get a pair of “combat” drones,
complete with controllers. For your
money, you get a few hours of play
time until you crash the drones into
each other or an unlucky tree. Not a
bad thing, if your goal is to fly a
quadcopter.
However, if you want to learn
robotics principles, you should at least
perform a post-mortem teardown of
your downed quadcopters. Teardowns
are a great way to discover what
works and what doesn’t, and what
techniques are worth borrowing. For
example, in one quadcopter I picked
up as a present, one motor simply
tore off from the mount and started
spinning wildly, tethered by the
power leads. Turns out that the
“mount” was nothing more than a
dollop of hot glue. Sure, it was
lightweight compared with a bolted-on mount, but it was also an accident
waiting to happen.
A better way of getting from A
to B — that is, to pick up robotics
skills related to quadcopters — is to
build your own. You can go all-out
and create the frame with a 3D
printer and get the parts from
sources like SparkFun and Tower
Hobbies. The upside of this approach
is the ability to fabricate spare frame
parts in an afternoon, or to create a
completely new frame in a weekend.
The downside is durability —
especially on the larger frames. I’ve
found that the standard ABS plastic
filament has only a fair durability to
weight ratio. Larger frames are just
heavier than the lightweight fiberglass
reinforced plastic frames available
commercially. However, for a 10 to 12
inch quadcopter, straight ABS plastic
is fine.
Alternatively, it’s a simple matter
to find a nice frame and electronic
components online. Hobby King has
an amazing assortment of affordable
miniature hardware, electric motors,
and the rest — as long as you can
tolerate the shipping delay from Hong
Kong. I’ve used their super-durable
reinforced plastic frame components
as well as their lightweight carbon
fiber frames, all with great success.
Make sure you order spares of
everything — from nuts and bolts to
motors and frame components.
Shipping from Hobby King is a major
component of the cost, so try to get
everything you need in one order.
(Of course, you can follow along
with our new series here in SERVO —
The Multi-Rotor Hobbyist with John
Leeman — as he takes us from
beginning principles to a finished
working quadcopter.)
So, let’s say you opt for the 3D
printer approach to acquiring a drone.
In getting from A to B, you’ll have to
understand strength of materials,
how and where to cut back on plastic
on the frame, and how to source all
the electronics, cables, and motors.
Your creation will likely not leave the
earth — much less fly — on your first
few attempts.
In figuring out balance and
center of gravity, you’ll likely try
several designs and break a few props
before you have a flight-worthy craft.
Long after the quadcopter has run
into its last tree, you’ll have retained
the lessons of robotics that you can
apply to your next project. So, next
time you consider taking a shortcut
from A to B, consider what you might
be missing along the way. SV
Getting from A to B
