- Client
- Drone technology start-up (name withheld under NDA)
- Industry
- Industrial Machinery & Presses
- Service
- Product Design & Development
- Platform
- SolidWorks
- Client region
- India
- Scope
- Airframe, motor housings, payload mechanism
- Prototyping
- STL set for 3D printing, drawings for machined parts
- Confidentiality
- NDA signed before data exchange
The challenge
The start-up had a working concept, a set of hand drawings and parts bought from several sources, but no model to iterate on. Weight, motor spacing and the payload mechanism's range of motion all interacted, and the team needed to test variants quickly by printing them.
Our approach
The airframe was modelled parametrically with the arm length, motor spacing and plate geometry as driving dimensions so that a variant is a dimension change. Motor housings were designed around the client's chosen motors with cooling paths and cable routes; the payload mechanism was modelled as a mated assembly so its travel and clearance to the frame could be checked through the full range.
Parts intended for printing were exported as STL with print orientation noted; parts for machining were drawn with material and finish. The whole design was handled under the client's NDA with files exchanged only through the agreed channel.
What was delivered
The client printed and tested the first airframe variant from the STL set and iterated twice using the parametric model, then released machined parts from the drawings.
- Parametric SolidWorks airframe and mechanism assembly
- STL set with print orientations
- Machining drawings for metal parts
- Assembly drawing with fastener list
Standards and conventions applied
- ISO 2768 general tolerances
- Print-oriented design-for-additive guidance
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