Cheap Quadcopter Frame – Under $10

Cheap Quadcopter Frame – Under $10 (motors, props, escs, battery, receiver, wiring, and control board are pictured, but costs are not included)

Recently, I built a low cost quadcopter frame for under $10. I was curious if I could build a cheap frame and get it airborne. It flies! I am a novice pilot and I use the OpenPilot CopterControl board to fly it. It flies great for me and was easy to build.

Here is the bill of materials:

• Ebay – 3 pieces of round 1/8″ clear acrylic 5″ diameter $1.17 each x 3 = $3.52
• Hobby Lobby – 2 pieces 3/8″x36″ square pine rod – $1.23 each x 2 = $2.46
• Harbor Freight – 21 zip ties (various sizes) – $.01 each x 21 = $.21
• McMaster-Carr – 16 Pan Head Phillips Machine Screws & Nuts , M2 Size, 20MM Length – $.13 each x 16 = $2.00
• Used Rubbermade Bowl or CD Lid – Free! (probably under $1 if purchased)

Total Cost (frame only) – $8.19

I bought the acrylic(12 pieces), screws(100 pieces) and zip ties(1200 pieces) in bulk and calculated the cost by dividing out the cost for each piece. If they were purchased indivdually, the cost would be higher.

The next post I do will have the detailed steps on how I built it.