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ARK RIG5

The ARK RIG5 is a 5 inch development drone compatible with a large suite of ARK electronics hardware.

Build Guide

Part List

Part
Quantity
Component

Frame (top/bottom)

1

N/A

M3x45 Standoff

8

Frame

M3x8 Screw

32

Frame/ESC/FPV FC

M3x16 Screw

20

Ark Flow/Landing Gear/Prop Guards

M3 Locknut

20

Ark Flow/Landing Gear/Prop Guards

M2x16 Screw

4

GPS

M2 Locknut

4

GPS

M3x10 Male-Female standoff

4

Connecting FPV-ESC

M3x10 Female-Female standoff

4

Connecting ESC-Frame

M2.5x10 Female-Female Standoff

4

Connecting PAB

M2.5x8 Screw

8

Connecting PAB

Printed Parts

All printed parts are available on GitHub. They will be available as STEP files so that you can make any changes you want! The files will include:

  • Landing gear

  • Prop guards

  • Motor spacer

  • Flow spacers

The frame will also be included so that you can modify it or just make it yourself if you have access to a CNC machine

Not found

Compatibility

Top Plate

Mounting holes for top plate

  • SAM GPS - M3

  • RTK GPS - M2

  • ARK GPS - M2

Bottom Plate

Mounting holes for bottom plate

  • FPV/ESC - M3

  • Pi6x - M2

  • PAB - M2.5

  • Standoffs - M3

Weight

Frame
Full drone (No battery)
Full drone (with battery)

186 g

623 g

1038 g

Build Guide Overview and Video Timestamps

Step 1: Identify and prepare components (0:10)

Step 2: Solder connectors on to ESC if not using connectorized ESC (2:51)

Step 3: Attach ESC to frame using 4 M3x8 screws and 4 F-F M3x10 standoffs (4:50)

Step 4: Attach FPV FC to ESC using 4 M-F M3x10 standoffs and 4 M3x8 screws (9:00)

  • Connect ESC and FPV FC together with 8 pin JST-GH/JST-SH cable

Step 5: Attach the ARK Flow using 4 M3x16 screws and 4 M3 locknuts (12:14)

  • Now would be a good time to attach a CAN cable to your flow. We'll come back to it later

Step 6: Attach all 4 motors using the hardware provided with the motors (17:30)

  • NOTE: Your screws may be too long and short out the motors. If this is the case print out 4 spacers available in the print files to ensure there is no contact between the ends of the screws and the motor coils

  • Once the motors are secured, zip tie the loose cables to the body and arms using the holes and notches in the arms

Step 7: Attach the 8 M3x45 standoffs to the body using 8 M3x8 screws (26:12)

  • You can now either attach the top plate using 8 M3x8 screws, or you may prepare your top plate before attaching it to the standoffs

Step 8: Attach GPS to top plate using either 4 M2x16 screws and locknuts or 4 M3x16 locknuts, depending on which GPS you're using (37:35)

  • If you want to print a case for the GPS, there should be downloadable STL files on the GitHub page for whichever GPS you are using

  • NOTE: The top plate has mounting holes for the ARK GPS, ARK RTK GPS, and ARK SAM GPS. You may need to drill a different pattern if using a different GPS or use only two holes. Alternatively, you could secure the GPS to the top plate with an adhesive/double sided tape, however this is not recommended.

  • Attach CAN cable and route it through the large hole in the top plate

  • Route CAN cable from the flow up through the large hole

  • plug CAN cable from GPS into the CAN port on your flight controller

  • NOTE: If daisy-chaining the flow and GPS together, you may need to configure the parameter "CANNODE_TERM" in QGroundControl

Step 9: Attach sticky battery pad (optional) and battery straps to top plate. (42:20)

Step 10: Secure top plate to the 8 standoffs using 8 M3x8 screws (30:12)

Step 11: Attach your RC module and Telemetry solution to the frame using zip ties or an adhesive (Telemetry solution not necessary if using Pi6x as it creates its own network) (44:17)

Step 12: Power the drone and configure it in QGroundControl or similar program (45:58)

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