Frame design and modelling

Designing a frame for quad copters is not as straight forward as I thought or hoped it would be. During the Ukdroneshow agility competition we were challenged not only to build a custom-made drone that can fly within two weeks (which Richard executed perfectly), but also to develop our own design. Due to the limited amount of time, 3D printing a frame was not possible. The printing would take about a week and the final dimensions of the drone were available after the built was completed. Not to mention that the frame would break in the first crash. However, we did make the first attempt of designing a frame for the "spidey" drone.

 Originally there were some crazy design ideas, like spherical themes, "Zaha Hadid" type of holes in the frame, or flying mice; but then as the quadcopter was built, it became quite obvious why all the quadcopter designs look pretty much the same. They have so many cables and weight limitations, that the shape of the protectors and frame cannot be massively different than the obvious and that is far from being aerodynamic. Now, originally we were setting off for a racing competition, which gave us some ideas for a unique crosssection which would make it slightly more durable.

Racing Drones don't tend to remain in a horizontal state when they race. Instead they race with approximately a 15 degree slope as shown in the image below:

 That led us in designing the edges of the frame not entirely round, but with a tear shaped section in the front and a upside down tear in the back. Thus leaving the sides perfectly round. Below are the blueprints of the design.

The design would allow the racing quadcopter to have a slightly more durable frame and better aerodynamics.

When starting to design a frame or any drone parts, it is essential to have an accurate measurement and produce blueprints of the functioning parts of the drone. That pretty much means a full digital representation, so do start with making as detailed digital drawings as possible. Any CAD software will do the job.

"Spidey's" blueprints

That will provide the right base for the design of the frame, will highlight both limitations and opportunities for design and will provide the starting point for 3d printed models. We will extend this post with more designs later.

We are currently having a small Christmas break , but we are looking forward in producing the 3d printed frame in the new year. Hopefully we ll get "spidey" to fly in a new suit.