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SunFounder 6D-Box Manual

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Preface
About SunFounder
SunFounder is a technology company focused on Raspberry Pi and Arduino open source
community development. Committed to the promotion of open source culture, we strive to
bring the fun of electronics making to people all around the world and enable everyone to
be a maker. Our products include learning kits, development boards, robots, sensor
modules and development tools. In addition to high quality products, SunFounder also offers
video tutorials to help you build your own project. If you have interest in open source or
making something cool, welcome to join us! Visit
www.sunfounder.com
for more!
About Quadcopter Learning Starter Kit for MWC
This learning kit is a basic but functional study tutorial for quadcopters based on the open
source platform MWC. Different from other toy aircrafts on the market, 6D-Box quadcopter
is not only a toy – through its application, you can not only learn much basic knowledge
about quadcopter and remote control, but also, which is more important, assemble your
own copter. It can the stepping stone on your path towards more advanced command of
flying and copters. The assembly of this quadcopter is quite simple and we provide thorough
hardware and software materials. This starter kit is a best choice for you if you are interested
in quadcopter and want to start learning.
As for the name 6D-Box: we call it 6D because it adopts a 6 degrees of freedom (DOF)
attitude sensor, and the box comes from its shape after assembled, which is very vivid. An
ATMega328P microprocessor is used for its flight control. The related sketch is compiled in
Arduino IDE with Arduino Pro Mini as the board model and applies the software MultiWii V2.2
after our modification. The quadcopter uses a 720 coreless DC motor and its frame diagonal
is only 11cm long, making it ultra-small in size and flexible in flight with premium lightweight
propellers.

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Summary of Contents for SunFounder 6D-Box

  • Page 1 As for the name 6D-Box: we call it 6D because it adopts a 6 degrees of freedom (DOF) attitude sensor, and the box comes from its shape after assembled, which is very vivid. An ATMega328P microprocessor is used for its flight control.
  • Page 2 All contents including but not limited to texts, images, and code in this manual are owned by the SunFounder Company. You should only use it for personal study, investigation, enjoyment, or other non-commercial or nonprofit purposes, under the related regulations and copyrights laws, without infringing the legal rights of the author and relevant right holders.

  • Page 3: Table Of Contents

    Contents 1. Introduction ............................ 1 Overview ........................... 1 Specifications........................2 2. Components List ..........................3 3. Software Debugging ........................9 Preparations ........................9 Battery & Charger ......................9 Flight Control Board ....................... 10 LED Board ........................11 Program ........................... 11 Configure Flight Parameters in GUI................

  • Page 4: Introduction

    To help solve this issue, we developed this 6D-Box quadcopter based on MWC for Arduino. Though small, it contains most of the knowledges about MWC. By learning this aircraft, you can try making your own...

  • Page 5: Specifications

    That'll save you a lot of money and you'll not need to adapt to another control again. To fit our 6D-Box better, some adjustments are made to the original MWC code. With the altered code, new hands may skip the difficulties in the PID adjustment and start learning MWC more easily.

  • Page 6: Components List

    2. Components List 2.1 Structural Fasteners Parts Name Qty. M1.2*10 Self-tapping Screw M2*5 Nylon Screw M2*20 Nylon Screw M2*8 Nylon Standoff M2*15 Nylon Standoff 2.2 Mechanical Components Parts Name Qty. Frame...
  • Page 7 6D-BOX Cover 6D-BOX LED Board 2 (Black) Motor Protective Seat 2 (Red) 2 (Red) Propeller Bumper 2 (Black)
  • Page 8 Red Propeller Reverse (clockwise) Red Propeller Positive (counterclockwise) Black Propeller Reverse (clockwise) Black Propeller Positive (counterclockwise) 2.3 Electronic Components Parts Name Qty. Flight Control Board...
  • Page 9 (3.7V, 380mAH) Mini USB Cable (1m) 3.7V USB Charger for Li-Po Battery 720CW Motor (red & black wire) (M1, M2) 720CCW Motor (black & white wire) (M3, M4) USB To Serial for 6D-BOX 2-Pin Connector Cable (1.27mm pin space, 3cm)
  • Page 10 6-Pin Connector Cable (1.27mm pin space, 10cm) 4mm Heat-shrink Tubing (8cm) Remote Control Receiver (4-Channel) Remote Control...
  • Page 11 2.4 Tools Parts Name Qty. 2mm Cross Screwdriver Propeller Removal Wrench 2.5 Self-provided Parts Parts Name Qty. AA Battery for Remote Control...

  • Page 12: Software Debugging

    The driver for PL2303 needs to be installed. If your PC is running Windows and the Update is open with access to the Internet, the driver will be installed automatically. But if Windows Update is not opened or your PC is not connected to the Internet, then go to SunFounder 6D-Box Quadcopter\Drivers, and click to open PL2303_Prolific_DriverInstaller_v1.10.0.exe file and install.

  • Page 13: Flight Control Board

    For the 6D-Box quadcopter, a Mini USB charger for a single battery is used. You may charge the battery with it by USB charger devices such as PC and power banks. During charging, first connect the battery with the charger. You can see the LED on the charger light up, which means the connecting works.

  • Page 14: Led Board

    The 6D-Box LED board makes the quadcopter more dazzling! With the shining LEDs, you can keep it in sight in the darkness. Taking the top view of the LED board (with the SunFounder logo on), with the port at the top, as shown in the figure above, the three LEDs on the top frame are white, right ones red, bottom ones green and left three ones blue.
  • Page 15 Click the tab config.h and start configuring the parameters. In the part The type of multicopter, activate the line #define QUADX, while the other lines should be commented out. Then configure the remote control and choose the proper I2C communication rate. Just apply the default settings.
  • Page 16 Then the flight control. Activate the line #define SUNFOUNDER_SE_V1_0 and comment out the rest lines. If your sketch is downloaded on MWC website, there is no such line – you need to find the line #define HK_MultiWii_SE_V2 and activate it. In Gyro filters, use a low-pass filter based on your situation, but the frequency should be no lower than 10Hz.
  • Page 17 Then click Tools>Processor>ATMega328 (5V,16MHz).

  • Page 18: Configure Flight Parameters In Gui

    Connect the USB-to-Serial for 6D-Box with the flight control and select the correct serial port. Note: Since the sockets on the flight control board and USB-To-Serial for 6D-Box (or PL2303) are rather small, when plugging in the 6-pin connector cable, you may need to press the socket in case of damages to the pins.
  • Page 19 you cannot open the file, you may need to install Java. Open a web browser, at the address bar enter http://www.java.com/en/ and press Enter. On the page, click Free Java Download and then install, click the execution file again). Then select the proper serial port. Click START and READ.

  • Page 20: Remote Control

    4. Remote Control Remote Control Talking of remote control, here a term is involved: "channel", meaning how many types of movement the copter can make by the remote control. For example, up and down can be counted one channel. If the remote control can only control the copter to fly up and down, it's called one channel.
  • Page 21 Mode 1 (Throttle Left) See the figure below for the throttle type. Mode 1 (Throttle left) Mode 2 (Throttle right)

  • Page 22: Remote Control + Receiver

    Remote Control + Receiver 4.2.1 Matching Remote Control with Receiver After the configuration of flight parameters is done, do not close GUI at once and connect the receiver to the flight control board. Switch on the remote control. Press and hold the button at the edge of the receiver (as shown below), and release it when you see the indicator light blinks.

  • Page 23: Gyroscope And Accelerator Calibration

    2. Similarly, check the phase of PITCH, ROLL, and YAW and invert the phase it necessary. PITCH: The value should increase when you push the rocker arm up. ROLL: Push the rocker arm left to right and the value should increase accordingly. YAW: Same with ROLL, push the rocker arm left to right and the value should increase.

  • Page 24: Copter Lock & Unlock By Remote Control

    4.3.2 Calibrating Accelerometer Place the flight control as flat as possible. Push the throttle to highest, pull the elevator to lowest and rudder the leftmost. The blue LED on the flight control board will blink for about 2 seconds and then stop. So the calibration is done. For throttle at the right hand, pull/push the rocker arms as below: For throttle at the left hand, pull/ push the rocker arms like this: Copter Lock &...
  • Page 25 For throttle at the right hand, push the rocker arm as below: For throttle at the left hand, pull the rocker arm like this: After the unlocking succeeds, pull the throttle and you can see the control data of the four motors on the GUI.
  • Page 26 4.4.2 Locking Copter Suppose your copter just finished a flight and it landed successfully. Now you may need to lock the plane, for calibration maybe. How to lock: Pull the throttle to lowest (of course your copter should not be flying in the air now), keep the elevator in the middle, and pull the rudder to the leftmost.

  • Page 27: Assembly

    6D-BOX aircraft following the steps below. First let's take a look at the assembled copter and its exploded view drawing so you can see what it'll be like after assembly and how to assemble.
  • Page 28 5.1 Motor + Motor Seat Cut the heat-shrink tubing into 4, 1.5-2 cm for each part. Then start to assemble. Step 1. Take a motor, a pair of motor protective seats, and a propeller bumper of the same color (note that two motors with the same color wire should be assembled to two different color motor seats).
  • Page 29 5.2 Motor + Frame Before the assembly, first you need to know the direction of motor rotation and the frame. See the last figure above: the motor with red & black wires rotates clockwise, and that with black & white wires counterclockwise. For the direction of the frame, an X-shape model is used in this quadcopter.
  • Page 30 Step 3. Insert the arm into the socket of the motor seat. So the motor and the frame are connected. Step 4. Similarly, mount the other three motors onto the frame. Pay attention to the sequence: the two motors with the same color seat should be next to each other. Step 5.
  • Page 31 Step 1. Take out the LED board, an M2*20 nylon screw and an M2*8 nylon standoff. Assemble them as shown below. Step 2. Complete the assembly of the other three props similarly. Then place the 6D-Box Cover. Step 3. Insert the screws assembled to the LED board into the threaded holes of the frame bottom (Note: the LED port should be in the same direction with the port on the flight control board).
  • Page 33 5.4 Final – Receiver + Cover + Propellers Step 1. Connect the receiver to the flight control board as shown below. Pay attention to the direction and the pin plugging. Step 2. Place the cover over the receiver and fasten them with 4 M2*5 nylon screws.
  • Page 34 Step 3. Assemble the propellers. Special attention should be paid to rotational direction of each blade – follow the instructions in the figure below. Warning: DO NOT install the motors and propellers inversely! Step 4. Install the battery.
  • Page 35 Step 5. All assembly is completed now! Note: After the assembly, you are not ready to go yet. Please follow the subsequent flying instructions carefully in case of unknown troubles!

  • Page 36: Try Flying

    6. Try Flying After all is assembled, you may need to adjust the copter a bit. It is necessary if you are new to or not so familiar with flight control. So please follow the instructions carefully. Fine Tuning Place the copter flat on a level surface in an open environment. Now you may calibrate the gyroscope and accelerometer and unlock your plane.
  • Page 37 2. If the copter tilts forward, lock it first. Push the throttle to highest, elevator backward and then back to middle. Then you can see the blue LED on the flight control blinks and then go out. Then a single round of fine tuning is done. 3.

  • Page 38: Precautions During Flight

    For throttle at the left hand, pull/push the rocker arm like this: Precautions During Flight ． Please fly your copter in an open environment where there are few people. ． To avoid the interference by magnetic field and airflow of Earth surface as possible, please fly the quadcopter to 1m or higher.
  • Page 39 But of course safety comes first! Even when you believe you're totally capable of any situations that may happen, you'll still need to keep in mind the safety of other people as well as your plane. With the bumpers taken off, the aircraft may be 4g or so lighter. When flying it, you may feel this little but obvious difference and find it's much sensitive to your control.

  • Page 40: Stunt Flying

    7. Stunt Flying The stunt flying with a quadcopter is advanced playing with the plane and requires very high skills. You are not recommended to try this type before getting proficient in performing the basic operations. Under this flight mode, the aircraft flies extremely fast and each aspect of flying becomes quite acute.

  • Page 41: Troubleshooting

    8. Troubleshooting If the remote control fails to control the quadcopter, refer to Matching Remote Control with Receiver. Switch on the quadcopter and the blue LED indicator keep blinking, and the copter cannot be unlocked. --- Calibrate the gyroscope and accelerometer referring to Gyroscope and Accelerator Calibration.

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