Overview
Choosing drone parts is a loop. The battery depends on the motors, the motors depend on the weight, and the weight includes the battery. Getting it wrong means a drone that barely lifts or drains its battery fast.
[05] Project
Custom Drone
COTS integrationPower electronicsAvionicsSoldering
A drone designed and built from off-the-shelf parts. I handled motor selection, avionics, power electronics, the frame hardware, soldering, wiring and electrical testing.
- Role
- Design and integration
- Year
- 2024
- Type
- Quadcopter
- Parts
- Off the shelf
- Scope
- Selection to testing
- Frame
- Motors
- ESCs
- Power board
- Flight controller
- Battery
How it works
Motors and propellers were matched to the drone's weight, and the battery to their current draw. Power runs from the battery through a distribution board to four motor controllers, and the signal wiring from the flight controller is routed away from the power lines.
Result
I soldered and wired the whole build, then checked continuity, polarity and current draw before the first power-up.