Fusion360 Laser Cut Plywood UAV

To make my very first drone, I decided to have a go at designing it with Fusion360 and getting it constructed out of laser cut 3mm plywood. I also selected my own electronics and drone hardware to go with it for a full DIY drone project. Learnt alot of dimensioning, measuring, flight calculations and electronics wiring in this project.This was intended to be an aerial platform for photography

Avionics:

4 x ESCs DYS DS20A BL_Helis BangGood

Velcro Strap RunCam Velcro STrap BangGood

1 x Flight Controller Omnibus Airbot F4 v632mm x 32mm $60.78 BangGood https://blog.dronetrest.com/omnibus-f4-v6-flight-controller-guide/

1 x Power Distribution Board (if not integrated on PDB) Matek Systems FCHUB A5 PDB $11.23 BangGood ttp://www.mateksys.com/?portfolio=fchub-a5

Motors:

(1st option) 4BE1806-13 23000KV 1806 $55.96 BangGood

(2nd option) 4EMAX XA2212 (1400kV) $30.65 Amazon https://www.amazon.com.au/Eurobuy-Brushless-Quadcopter-Multirotor-Batteries/dp/B08DJ42XHR

Propellers:

06x40 Plastic propellers CW/CCW Set x 26'' diameter x 4'' pitch HobbyKing https://hobbyking.com/en_us/6040-bullnose-props-pc-black.html?___store=en_us

Other:

Transmitter FlySky FS i6 $100.89 BangGood

R/C Receiver FlySky X6B 37mm x 22mm x 7mm $18.25 BangGood

1 x LiPo Charger Turnigy Accucel-6 Charger $50.00 HobbyKing https://hobbyking.com/en_us/turnigy-accucel-6-80w-10a-balancer-charger-lihv-capable.html

1 x Battery Multistar 4000 MaH 3S LipO $34.96 HobbyKing0.286https://hobbyking.com/en_us/multistar-lihv-high-capacity-4000mah-3s-multi-rotor-lipo-pack.html

The initial design of the parts were a variety of 2D sketches extruded to 3mm to suit the plywood material, with the main intention of getting the pieces to slot together like a puzzle. I drew inspiration from Japanese bamboo drone designs. Assembly of all parts and avionics was done to ensure no clashes with components and that the laser cut grooves would fit together perfectly. The parts which I designed were:

1. Rotor Arm x 8
2. Top Plate x 1
3. Bottom Plate x 1
4. Motor Plate x 4
5. Legs x 4

I borrowed the laser cutting machine at my university's makerspace to complete the manufacture. After the assembly was done, each sketch was converted into .dxf files for laser cutting using Rhino and the laser cutting program.

Assembly of the drone parts was the fun part! Each piece was arranged flat like a jigsaw and I pieced together the drone and added wood glue and a total of four metal standoffs to clamp the components together.

Schematics

I have attached some simple block diagrams showing the connectivity for the drone (both with focus on the flight controller itself) and the power distribution with the LiPo, PDB and ESC wiring.

Flight Calculations

Here are some of my initial flight calculations that were used when I was choosing my drone components. In particular, the motor and prop combinations with the chosen LiPO configuration was a key part of making my drone flight capable

Electronics Assembly

With the laser cut frame, the major components were then screwed into the frame, such as the motors and the flight controller being placed on shock mounts. The ESC were soldered to the PDB and secured beneath the rotor arms using cable ties. The battery was mounted using a velcro strap