Learn 3D Modeling for Drone Build

Posted on Edited on Disqus:

A few of my projects have been held back because the cost of a chassis would double the project cost and there aren't dependable/customizable solutions for small and quick electronics projects that need a case. I've used FDM printing to get roughly what I need but the time modeling spans hours and I don't feel like I'm using Fusion 360 to its full potential.

I decided to take CAD and Digital Manufacturing on Coursera. The specialization deals with building a drone frame for Nylon printing.

The STLs for the project https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5810830

Issues that cropped up during this project:

  1. The course looks to be from around 2018. FPV quadcopters have come a long way so sourcing parts was difficult for a novice. I ended up with parts with poor documentation
  2. The model is too large for a typical 3d printer to print so it had to be broken into several parts (see Fusion snip below)
  3. Nylon is not a very good material for drone frames. It flexes a lot and is heavy relative to strength. The frame flexing also makes it more difficult for the flight controller to assign thrust
  4. The component tray model could not fit two 4S LiPos so it was redesigned

It ended up flying. I think a voltage drop ended up crashing the flight controller making it unresponsive to remote control and the drone started drifting to the unknown. Luckily it hit a power line and I was able to recover it.