ATTACHMENT 7 
3r DYY6 

Build Manual 

V.A 2014 

1 
Contents Thanks for purchasing a DIY Y6! 

These instructions will show you how to assemble a Y6 using the Pixhawk autopilot system and ArduCopter /APM:Copter firmware. if you plan to use other components in your build, please adjust these instructions accordingly. For online instructions, visit 3dr.comjd jy -y6 -kit. Frame parts Electronics Tools 

3 4 

4 

1 Motor assembly 5 2 Power system wiring 8 3 Body plate assembly 10 4 Pixhawk assembly 15 5 Leg assembly 21 6 Calibration 22 7 Propeller assembly 22 

2 
Frame parts 111111111111111111111111111111111111110, 

leg plates (6) 

blue arms (2) black arms (1) base plate top plate 

Pixhawk plate 

accessory plate 

u leg support plates (3) 

411 motor plates (6) 

30 mm bolts (5) 

ANOWNININ401119w 25 mm bolts (22) 

5 mm bolts (30) nylon bolts (4) 

30 mm male -female standoffs (4) 19 mm hollow spacers (15) 

1111111111 18 mm female -female standoffs (9) 

metal nuts (32) nylon nuts (3) thumb nuts (2) 

itop 

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velcro strips (one pair) velcro straps (3) dual lock zip ties 

power distribution board 

four -wire cables (25 cm and 15 cm) six -wire cables (30 cm and 15 cm) 15 cm female -female servo cable 

male- female servo cables (30 cm and 10 cm) threadlocker 

3 
Electronics 

Tools 

i motors with adapters (6) 

electronic speed controllers Deans connectors (6) 

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Heat shrink tubing (12) SF propellers (4) SFP propellers (4) GPS mast with four mounting screws u -blox GPS with compass Pixhawk kit 

This build uses the Pixhawk autopilot system, including these components: 

Pixhawk autopilot u -blox GPS with Compass 

Telemetry radios 

Radio control system 

ArduCopter /APM:Copter firmware 

Click here for more information about these components and to view compatible radio control systems. 

To complete this build, you will need the following tools not included with your kit: 

Phillips screwdriver Double -side foam tape or other mounting adhesive 

Soldering equipment 

Note: The electronics for this build require soldering. If you're unfamiliar with soldering, 

our friends at Sparkfun have some great tutorials that can get you started, including this comic. For an example of exactly what soldering you'll be doing in this build, view this video tutorial. 

4 
1 iVotor 

assembly Follow these instructions to assemble 

two co -axial motors. 1 Assemble bottom motor 

Align two holes in the bottom of the motor with two holes in the motor plate. Apply threadlocker to two 5 mm bolts, and secure the motor to 

the plate from below. This motor will 

attach to the underside of the arm, 

so orient the motor so that the cables will protrude as close as possible to the hole in the side of the arm. 

When applying threadlocker, use less than one drop, and cover only four or five threads where the bolt connects with the motor. Make sure to insert the bolts into the holes in the bottom of the motor and not into the slots where they could interfere with the motor. 

motors (2) motor plates (2) 5 mm bolts (4) 19 mm hollow spacers (3) 25 mm bolts (3) metal nuts (3) 

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2 Attach top motor to arm 

Place a motor plate on top of the arm with the short end of the plate facing towards the end of the arm. Place the motor on top of the plate, and align 

the two small holes in the motor, 

plate, and arm. Orient the motor with 

the cables as close as possible to the 

hole in the side of the arm. Apply threadlocker to two 5 mm bolts (less than one drop covering 

four or five threads at the end of the 

bolt), and secure the motor and plate to the arm from below by accessing through the two large holes in the bottom of the arm. Make sure 

to insert the bolts into the holes in the bottom of the motor and not into the slots where they could interfere with the motor. 3 Thread motor cables through arm 

Now you'll thread the cables from both motors through the arm. First, 

thread the cables from the top motor through the hole in the side of the arm, and use a piece of tape to label the cables so that you can distinguish between the top and bottom 

motor cables. Once you've labelled 

the top motor cables, thread the 

bottom motor cables through the hole in the arm. 

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6 
4 Attach bottom motor to arm 

Piace the assembled bottom motor against the bottom of the arm with the short end of the plate facing towards the end of the arm. Apply threadlocker to the ends of the two 25 mm bolts (less than one drop covering four or five threads at the end of the bolt). Place a 19 mm hollow spacer between each of the pairs of holes in the two motor plates. Place the 25 mm bolts through the motor plates and spacers, and secure from below with a metal nut. 

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25 mm bolts 

bottom motor assembly 

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25 -mm bolts 

bottom motor assembly 

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metal nuts 

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2 Power system 

wiring 

Follow these instructions to connect 

the power system. 1 Solder Deans to ESCs Solder a Deans connector to the red and black wires on each electronic speed controller (ESC). Check the 

Deans connectors for the + and - 

markings, and solder the + side to the red wire and the - side to the black wire. Don't forget to add heat shrink tubing to the wires before soldering, and shrink the tubing over the finished connections. 2 Number ESCs Use tape (or other method) to label each ESC with a number one through six. 

Deans connectors (6) 

Deans to ESC: negative = black positive = red 

electronic speed 

controllers (ESCs) 

(6) 

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power distribution 

board (PDB) 

Power module 

8 
3 Connect ESCs to PDB 

Connect the Deans connectors 

(red) on the ESCs to the Deans 

connectors on the power distribution board (PDB) in any order. Take a look at the PDB and find the 

pins labelled M1 through M6 (motors 1 through 6), and make a note of which color wire connects to each. Now connect the three -wire 

cables from each ESC to these pins on the PDB according to the ESC 

numbers. This is where the order is 

critical. Connect the ESC that you 

labelled as "1" to the pins on the PDB labelled "M1 ". Orient the cable with 

the white wire at the top (farthest 

from the base of the board) and the black wire at the bottom (closest to 

the base of the board). 4 Connect PDB to power module 

Attach the XT60 connector (yellow) on the PDB to the XT60 connector on 

the power module. 

9 
3 Body plate 

assembly 

Follow these instructions to assemble the body plates. 1 Add velcro straps to base plate Thread the two velcro straps through the slots in the base plate. These straps will hold the battery to the bottom of your copter. The perfectly flat side of the plate (without the protruding nuts) should face down. Your kit includes two velcro strips to attach to the battery and the bottom of the copter. To install, attach the strip with loops (fuzzy) to the bottom of the plate between the straps, and attach the strip with hooks (smooth) to your battery. 2 Attach arms to base plate Using the innermost hole in the arm and the hole in the base plate marked below, insert a 30 mm screw from the bottom up through the plate and the arm. Attach the blue arms to the wider end of the plate and the black arm to the narrow end as shown on the next page. 

base plate top plate 30 mm bolts (5) 25 mm bolts (7) 

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19 mm hollow metal nuts (10) nylon nuts (3) thumb nuls (2) velcro straps velcro ship spacers (6) 

Visit the APM:Copter Wiki and learn more about which batteries to use with your copter. 

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30 mm bolts 

10 
Ensure that each arm is attached to 

the plate with the top and bottom 

motors in correct orientation. An easy way to tell which side of the arm is the top is to look at the 25 mm bolts in the motor assembly; the bottom side of the arm has nuts securing the bolts. 3 Label motors 

Use tape (or other method) to label 

the motors by the numbers shown 

here. (The number above the line 

corresponds to the top motor; the 

number below the line refers to the bottom motor.) 

4 Connect ESC and motor cables 

Connect the motor cables to the corresponding ESC cables according to the labelled numbers (connect motor 1 to ESC 1, motor 2 to ESC 2, etc). The order of the three cables determines which direction the motors will spin and is critical for the copter to fly correctly. Connect the cables by color in the order shown 

here. 

5 6 

3 4 

Y6B CONFIGURATION 

top = blue center = red 

bottom = black 

It may be helpful to secure each arm 

in place temporarily with a metal nut. 

This image shows the correct wiring for each ESC and motor. The motor cables are differentiated by color. To differentiate the ESC cables, orient the ESC with the label facing up, and use the relation of the cables to the label. 

11 
5 Assemble electronics onto base 

plate The base plate holds the power system: power distribution board (PDB), power module, and six ESCs. Place the assembled power system onto the base plate. ESCs 1, 3, 4, and 6 will attach to the sides of the copter, perpendicular to the plates, and cannot be secured until after the top plate is assembled. For now, 

place these ESCs around the edges 

of the plate. Situate ESCs 2 and 5 on the base plate with the labels facing down. To better accommodate the 

power system on the plate, you 

can switch the order of the Deans connections between the ESCs and the PDB. (Do not switch the orders of any other cables.) Ensure that the power module XT60 connector protrudes from the back end of the copter where it can easily connect to the battery. 6 Assemble top plate 

Remove any nuts that you may have used to secure the arms 

temporarily to the base plate, and 

add the top plate directly on top of 

the arms. Secure the three existing 

screws with metal nuts, and add a nylon nut on top of each metal nut. 

top: nylon nuts 

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III 

hollow spacers 

metal nuts 
Secure the arms to the plates through 

the holes in the end of the arms and the holes in the plates shown. Use 30 

mm bolts and thumb nuts to attach 

the blue arms, and use a 25 mm bolt and metal nut to attach the black arm. Finally, attach the base and top 

plates together with 25 mm bolts, 19 mm hollow spacers, and metal nuts 

where marked. 

BOTTOM VIEW 

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hollow spacers 

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thumb nuts 

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30 mm bolts 

metal nuts 

13 
7 Secure ESCs 

Use zip ties to secure the dangling ESCs to the outsides of the plates using the small slots along the outside edges of the top and base plates. Orient each ESC with the capacitor (cylindrical volume at the edge of the ESC) nearest to the closest arm. 8 Thread cables through top plate Locate the following three cables, and thread them up through the central space in the top plate: PDB two -wire cable (red and black), PDB six -wire cable (multicolor), and power module six -wire cable (red and black). These cables will connect to Pixhawk. 

14 
4 Pixhawk 

assembly Follow these instructions to assemble the Pixhawk and accessory plates. 1 Mount Pixhawk Separate the four foam pieces provided with the Pixhawk kit, and attach them to the bottom four corners of the board. Mount Pixhawk to the Pixhawk plate with the arrow facing towards the wider end of the plate. 2 Mount buzzer and switch The switch (button) snaps into the round hole in the accessory plate. Thread the switch cable through the hole in the accessory plate from the top, and gently pull the switch into place. Using double -sided foam tape, mount the buzzer to the underside of the accessory plate. 

Pixr awk plate accessory plate nylon bolts (4) 30 mm standoffs (4) metal nuts (4) GPS mast 

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BOTTOM VIEW 

Mast mounting screws (L) 

15 
3 Mount GPS 

Place the base of the GPS mast over 

the four holes in the accessory plate with the shorter side of the top of the 

mast facing the left side of the plate (the arrow -shaped holes in the plate 

face forward). Add a mounting screw to each hole, and secure with nuts. 

Remove the adhesive backing from the mast and place the GPS module onto the mast with the connectors facing the shorter side and the arrow on the GPS pointing in the same direction as the arrow -shaped 

holes in the plate. 

4 Insert SD card 

Insert the micro -SD card into the slot at the end of Pixhawk. The APM:Copter sticker can be attached to the front of Pixhawk. 

16 
5 Connect modules to Pixhawk 

Connect the buzzer, switch, splitter, GPS, power, and telemetry modules to Pixhawk. To ensure the most secure cable assembly, thread the cables through the holes in the plates where 

possible. Where the cables dangle 

away from the frame, such as along the mast, use zip ties to secure the cables to the frame. 

Note: Pixhawk's DF13 connectors can be fragile when disconnected and reconnected multiple times. Do not pull on the cables to disconnect, use a fingernail or small, flat tool to loosen the edges of the connector until it pops out. 

1 

5 3 

4 

1 Buzzer and switch: Connect the buzzer to Pixhawk's BUZZER port, and connect the switch (safety 

button) to the SWITCH port. These components are mandatory for Pixhawk. 

2 I2C splitter: Connect the four -wire cable to one of the ports on the splitter and to Pixhawk's 12C port. 3 GPS with compass: Use the long cables provided with the GPS mast to connect the GPS with 

compass module to Pixhawk. Connect the four -wire cable to the GPS' MAG port and to one of the 

ports on the I2C splitter. Connect the six -wire cable to the GPS port on the GPS module and to Pixhawk's GPS port. 

4 Power module: Connect the six -wire cable (red and black cable protruding from the central space in 

the top plate of the copter) to Pixhawk's POWER port. 

5 Telemetry radio: Connect the six -wire cable to a telemetry radio module and Pixhawk's TELEM 1 port. 

17 
6 Connect RC receiver 

7 Connect motor outputs Connect backup power (optional) 

Pixhawk is compatible with PPM RC receivers or PWM receivers with an additional PPM encoder module. Connect the three -wire cable (red, black, and white) from your PPM receiver or PPM encoder to Pixhawk's RC pins with the white wire connected to the signal (s) pin, the black wire connected to the ground ( -) pin, and the red wire connected to the power ( +) pin. Click here for more information on using a PPM encoder or Spektrum Satellite receiver. 

Locate the six -wire cable (multicolor) protruding from the central space in the top plate. Connect it to the main output signal (s) pins on Pixhawk according to motor number. Recall 

your notes from the power system wiring and see which color 

wire corresponds to motor 1. Ensure that that color wire is 

connected to the main output 1 signal (s) pin. Do not rely on the colors of the wires shown here, the accuracy of this component is critical. 

Connect the two -wire cable (red and black) protruding from the top plate to provide a backup power source for Pixhawk. Connect the black wire to any of Pixhawk's main output ground ( -) pins and the red wire to any of the main output power pins ( +). This configuration is best supplemented with a zener diode (visit the APM:Copter Wiki to learn more), but the backup power method can be used without implementing the additional diode. If you do not wish to connect backup power, leave the cable disconnected. 

18 
8 Assemble plates 

Add a 5 mm nylon bolt to the four holes in the accessory plate marked below, and attach a 30 mm standoff to each one below the plate. Add the Pixhawk plate to the ends of the standoffs and secure with metal 

nuts. Ensure that the arrows on the 

accessory plate face towards the wider end of the Pixhawk plate. 

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19 
Place the assembled plates over the 

exposed bolts in the top plate with the arrows facing towards the blue arms, and secure with metal nuts. 

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metal nuts 

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9 Mount remaining components c, Select a location on the copter to 

mount the I2C splitter, telemetry radio, and RC receiver. Use dual lock 

or double -sided foam tape to mount the components. Check that all components are connected securely to Pixhawk. Where you place the components on the copter is ultimately limited by the length of the cables between 

modules. Experiment with the 

different length cables provided with 

your kit, and find the best place for each module on your copter. 

top plate 

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(mast not pictured) 20 
5 Leg assembly 

Follow these instructions to assemble one leg. 1 Assemble leg Align the leg plates, and place a standoff between each of the bottom three pairs of holes in the plates. Secure each standoff to the plates with a 5 mm bolt on each end. Insert the support plate into the horizontal slots at the top of the leg. 2 Attach leg to arm Align the two holes in the top of the leg with the two holes in the center of the arm. Orient the leg with the point facing towards the center of the copter. Insert two 25 mm bolts through the arm and the leg, and secure with metal nuts. Repeat these steps for each leg of your copter. 

leg plates (2) leg support plate S mm bolts (6) 18 mm female -to- female 25 mm bolts (2) metal nuts (2) 

threaded standoffs (3) 

Ill leg support plate 

mm bolts 

21 
6 Calibration 

Your Y6 assembly is almost complete. Now it's time to go online, download software, and begin calibrating Pixhawk to work with your 

new frame. Do not proceed to 

propeller assembly with performing calibration. 7 Propeller assembly Follow these instructions to assemble propellers. 1 Assemble propellers Remove the rings from the propeller package. Select the ring with the smaller internal diameter, and insert it into the back of the propeller hub. 

View the calibration instructions online at 3dr.com /diy -y6 -kit. 

propeller adapters (6) SF propellers (3) SFP propellers (3) 

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22 
2 Assemble propeller adapters 

Select the propeller adapters and the longer screws provided with the adapters. Do not use the x- shaped plate. Apply threadlocker to the four small screws included with the propeller adapters (less than one drop covering four to five threads). Attach an adapter to the top of each motor. 3 Add propellers Your Y6 uses SF and SFP propellers. These propellers are labelled on the package and on the propeller itself. Add SF and SEP propellers to the motors shown in the diagram below with the writing on the propeller facing towards the sky. The right propeller order and orientation is critical for your copter to fly correctly. Add the spacer above the propeller, and secure the nut tightly on top. 

a 

CW 

, 

CW 

CCW ' CCW 

icw 

CCW 

Ensure that the writing on the propellers for both top and bottom motors faces the sky. 

23 
Your Y6 build is now complete! 

Before your first flight, please read all safety information and first flight instructions at copter.ardupilot.com /wiki /tableof- contents /. For customer support, contact us at help @3dr.com or call our support line at +1 (858) 225 -1414 

Monday through Friday, from 8 

am to 5 pm, PST. 

COMPLETE Y6 

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