3D-printable lightweight drone frame.

Hello, my name is Josef Pecka and I am studying at Brno University of Technology. Apart from my large CNC project, I am also working on smaller ones.

I have always wanted to build an FPV drone with my own design. After learning about generative design in Fusion 360 I knew I had to give it a try and make a lightweight 5-inch drone frame that could be 3D printed.

Rendered picture of assembled drone with generated frame

Although making a generative design sounds simple because it generates the design for you it took over 100 iterations to get a good-looking, lightweight, and strong enough outcome so it would not shatter on first impact. The whole design was optimized for a Nylon 12 additive manufacturing to make it as light as possible while keeping the high impact strength of Nylon. With the latest version, I was able to reduce the weight to 105 grams.

Rendered picture of assembled drone with generated frame - top view

To make sure the frame does not fall apart from just pinching it I created a study where I applied 250 N of force to one of the arms to see where would it permanently deform or break. The results are in the picture below, where red areas show possible permanent deformation or breakage.

Simulation results showing displacement and material stress

Because I own just a regular 3D printer I cannot achieve a frame with isotropic properties as possible with SLS printing. That is why I am reaching out to PCBWAY because I know they can manufacture high-quality SLS Nylon parts which would be perfect for this project.