Cylinder-shaped Coaxial Drone

Published on 19 May 2022. Written by Dineshkumar E

In today’s world drones are widely used for various applications. A lot of cool things can be done with the help of drones. Drones with quad configuration are used for major application because of the following reasons: simple in design, agility and easy to control. But the quad configuration has some disadvantages like more power consumption compared to tri and twin copters, Quad frame occupies more area and flight time is also less.

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To overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks, twin copter with co-axial configuration is used. By using this configuration, flight time is increased since only two motors are used. The frame size is also reduced which makes it more compact and increases the structural rigidity.

Project Description:

In the co-axial configuration, the rotors are stacked one above the other and rotate in different directions. One rotor in the clockwise direction and another in anti-clockwise direction to counter the torque. A servo motor is attached to the motor assembly to achieve the roll and pitch motion. Yaw motion is achieved by varying the rpm of the motors.

By putting the components in a cylindrical frame increases the strength and portability of the drone. Drag produced is also less in the co-axial configuration when compared to other configurations like the quad, tri and so on. Following are the major components that are used for fabricating the drone:

1. Brushless motors: These motors are three-phase AC motors that work on AC supply. ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) is used to control the RPM of these motors. ESC contains an inverter circuit that converts the DC supply from the battery to AC.
2. Propellers: There are two types of propellers Pusher and Puller. Pusher propeller rotates clockwise direction to produce thrust and Puller rotates anticlockwise direction to produce thrust.
3. Flight Controller board: FCB is used to make the flying easier. It contains a microcontroller and sensors like accelerometer and gyroscope. The microcontroller processes the data captured by the sensors and controls the movement of servos and rpm of the motors. By interfacing GPS module with the FCB navigation of drone becomes easier and advanced features like autonomous take-off and landing also achieved.
4. Battery: LiPo batteries are used to power the drone. Lithium Polymer batteries have more recharge life cycle when compared to Nickel-cadmium and Nickel Metal Hydride batteries.

Advantages of the co-axial drone:

1. Reduced frame size which makes it easier to carry for different places.
2. Less weight increases flight time.
3. Simple structure gives a way to pack more payload.
4. Lesser parts mean less maintenance and few chances of failure during flight.
5. Higher speed can be achieved as cylindrical shape creates less pressure drag.
6. With no motor arms and structure projecting into the airstream makes it aerodynamically more efficient.

Kit required to develop Cylinder-shaped Coaxial Drone:

• bldc motor
• Propeller
• Flight Controller
• Electronic Speed Controller

Technologies you will learn by working on Cylinder-shaped Coaxial Drone:

• Aerodynamics
• Drone

Any Questions?