Designing and Building a 3D-printed Quad-Tiltrotor UAV Using ArduPilot

Abstract

Abstract — This technical report outlines the design and building process of a Quad-Tiltrotor Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), a type of drone. While this technology has been thoroughly explored for fixed-wing planes, its application to quad-setups is less common and has room for innovation. The quad-tiltrotor UAV is built around a 3D-printed frame and uses open-source ArduPilot firmware through a Matek H743-WLite flight controller, running on a 6S power system. It consists of four servo-driven arms independent of the main body that are capable of rotation. This enables thrust vectoring by the motors while the drone’s body remains flat and stable during forward motion. Keeping the body level reduces frontal area in forward flight, which is expected to lower aerodynamic drag and therefore energy consumption per flight. Based on flight-log data, the main body’s pitch stayed within approximately 6.5° of level during forward flight. This report consists of six distinct stages: Concept, Rotation Mechanism, Components & Circuitry, Chassis Design, Fabrication & Assembly, and Control Setup.