Arducopter 3DR Hexa-B Assembly Guide

3/14/2013

This guide will walk you through the assembly process of your Arducopter 3DR Hexa-B Frame.

The 3DR ArduCopter Hexa is a stable and supported multi-rotor frame in the ongoing development of the ArduCopter codebase on DIYDrones. It features a very durable Aluminum and G10 FR4 frame that can withstand hard impacts. The wide legged stand allows for more stable takeoffs and landings and provides an unobstructed view for a bottom mounted camera.

The main features of revision B, is that it has shorter arms which reduces the weight.

Hardware Included with the Arducopter Hexacopter.

Screws and other hardware included with the hexacopter frame. Take note of the colours of the screws as they help when looking at the assembly pictures below.

Soldering the Power Distribution Board

The Hexacopter power distribution board arrives as shown in the image above.
To begin assembly, start by laying out the six female dean’s connectors in the appropriate spots around the PDB.
They will be soldered at an angle so each lead makes contact with the pads on opposite sides of the board.
Make sure you’re matching up the right pads by laying them all out before you start soldering.
There should be exactly enough pads for the six connectors.
Be careful to match up the positive and negative contacts properly as well. The connectors have raised lettering on the back that shows which tap is which.

When you are sure of the proper positions, solder each connector in one by one.
One technique that helps if you don’t have three hands is to orient the connector then superglue it in place before soldering, making sure not to superglue over the pads or metal tabs.

Please note that depending on supply the colours of the cables may vary, just make sure you keep the same order so you know what colour should go to which motor.

Next insert the 4-wire cable into the holes shown above taking special care to do it in the right order. It should be Orange, White, Red then Black for motors 1-4 respectively.
Solder the wires in from the back side.

Next solder in the two wire connector, wires Yellow and White for motors 5 and 6 respectively

Now attach the 3x4 right angle headers to the holes at the edge of the board

Then add in the 2x3 pin right angle header next to it.

Depending on supply a pre-soldered cable may come with your kit so you don't need to do this.

Now take the 10AWG wire and strip both ends about 0.2 inches or 5mm.
Then solder the wires to the tabs on the back of the male Dean’s connector.
Make sure again to wire the red wire to the + tab and the black wire to the – tab.
Slip the heatshrink on the back and heat it to cover the solder joints.

Now solder the loose ends of the 10AWG wire into the large holes on the board marked “+” and “-“.

Finally solder in the small two-wire cable into the small holes marked “To APM” “+” and “-“, again with the red wire into “+” and the black wire into “-“.
That’s it, your Power Distribution Board (PDB for short) is now complete!

Soldering the motor/ESC connections

If you purchased the kit from Unmanned Tech, the motors and ESCs will come pre-soldered so you just need to connect them. If that is is the case you can skip this section

First solder the male bullet plugs to the three motor wires. Add heat shrink to cover the connector from the solder joint up to the lip where it meets the female side when connected

Repeat the same setps for the ESC connections with the female bullet connectors. Cover with heatshrink covering all of the exposed metal tip.

Choosing your Hexacopter frame orientation

Arducopter Hexa +

Arducopter Hexa X

Something to keep in mind during this build is which conﬁguration your vehicle will be ﬂown in. This is later chosen when setting up your APM in the Mission Planner.
There is no effect on performance it is just a matter of personal preference. Both the + (Top) and X (Bottom) conﬁgurations are pictured above. The blue arms indicate the front of the vehicle.
This manual will continue building the vehicle in X conﬁguration. Please adjust accordingly

Notice which color arms have legs mounted on them for each conﬁguration

Assembling your arducopter arms - x6

Arducopter Leg Assembly - click for larger view

Please note that only 3 legs will have legs on them. Refer to the pictures above to select which color arms will have legs on them

Attach the motor to the arm using two M3x5mm screws (Blue) and two M3 lock washers (Orange) making sure the screws go into the threaded holes in the motor and not the ventilation holes. (If the motor is screwed using the ventilation holes, it will not spin freely)
Route the motor cables through the hole on the side of the arm.
Use two M3x25mm screws (Green) and two M3 metal nuts (Pink) to fasten the legs to the arm using the indicated holes.
To provide rigidity to the legs attach two M3x18mm spacers in between the legs and secure with four M3x5mm metal screws (Blue)
Repeat for all 6 arms.

Building the central part of the arducopter Hexa frame

Arducopter Hexa Frame Assembly - click for larger view

Attach the bottom and top plates to one of the black arm assemblies using two M3x25mm screws (Green) and secure with two M3 metal nuts (Pink).
Attach a black arm in the same manner directly opposite to the first one.
Attach the remaining four arms using an M3x25mm screw (Green) and an M3x35mm screw (Red) , secure with two M3 metal nuts (Pink)

The screw closer to the center of the vehicle is longer. You will end up with four longer screws that will be used to attach the PDB cap

Slide the two velcro straps through the slots on the bottom plate.
The velcro straps will be used to fasten the ﬂight battery under the vehicle

Wiring everything together

Connect the three male bullets from the motors to the three bullet connectors on the ESCs
Repeat for all 6 motors

Its a good idea to wait before you secure the ESC too tightly with a zip tie. When configuring arducopter you will need to make sure the motors are spinning in the correct direction. To change the direction you swap the two outer wires of the ESC around. If it has already been secured this might be difficult.

Place the PDB in the center hole of the vehicle as shown in the picture above

Although orientation does not matter, some orientations might allow you to route wires more neatly. It is recommended that the PDB pins face the same direction as your APM output pins to minimize the distance between them

Connect the Deans plugs on the ESCs to the PDB

The order does not matter, this is just so the motors can get power from the battery

Label the arms of the vehicle to correspond to your frame orientation/config as shown

Finally connect the 3 wire cables from the ESCs to their respective spots on the PDB signal pins.
Match the arm number (lthat you labeled before) to the respective signal number (“S#”) on the PDB.
Remember ground is down

The ESCs are currently left dangling and unattached to the frame. This is because later on we will start up the vehicle and verify the motors rotate in the correct direction. To reverse motor spin direction, swap any two of the three wires connecting the motor to the ESC. Once all the motors spin in the correct direction use the zip ties included to mount the ESCs to the vehicle’s arms

Mounting your ArduPilot Mega board to the Hexacopter

APM can be mounted using double sided tape (3M Scotch Exterior Mounting Tape is recommended) or it can be bolted to the carrier plate (but you need to use some anti vibration mounts).
The series of slots on the carrier plate allow your APM to be bolted in both + and X conﬁgurations

In + mode the front of the APM should face arm 1. In X mode the front should be between arms 3 and 5

For more details on connecting your ardupilot mega board, have a look at the guide on connecting arducopter

Assembling the arducopter hexa Stackup plates

Arducopter Stackup Assembly - click for larger view

Starting from the top of the diagram shown, use four plastic M3x5mm (Light Blue) screws to mount four M3x18mm spacers on one of the stack-up plates.
Mount the second stack-up plate to the bottom of the previous assembly using four M3x30mm spacers (longest)
Attach the stack-up assembly put together in steps 1 & 2 to the carrier plate where your APM is mounted using four plastic M3x5mm screws (Light Blue) from the bottom.

The diagram illustrates the X conﬁguration. For + you will have to shift the stack-up assembly 60º to provide clearance for the APM

Slide four rubber washers (Pink) onto the four screws sticking out of the Main Frame Assembly
Place the stack-up assembly through the four M3x35mm screws. Make sure the motor signal cables from the PDB are out and have enough room to reach the APM outputs
Secure the stack-up assembly using four M3 thumbnuts

Attaching the propellers to your arducopter frame

To attach the propellers use the collets included. Cut the plastic ring included with the propellers that ﬁts snug around the threaded collet and insert it into the slot in the back of the propeller.
Place the collet on the motor shaft and tighten to keep the propeller in place.
Make sure the writing on the propeller is facing up. Refer to the diagram for correct prop rotation direction.

We hope that you enjoy fling your Arducopter Hexa Frame, if you have any questions please feel free to ask below.

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