Carbon Fiber Drone Parts Programme

Client Background

Who the Work Was For

Consumer and professional UAV manufacturers and integrators building multirotor platforms for aerial work, survey and inspection.

Project Challenge

Every gram in the airframe is a gram the battery lifts, but the frame still has to be stiff enough to hold a camera steady. Cutting weight by softening the structure solves nothing.

Customer Pain Points

• Flight duration falling short of the platform specification
• Frame flex feeding vibration into the camera and flight controller
• Plates, arms and mounts from different suppliers not assembling first time

Our Solution

Airframe parts are produced in carbon fiber composite, which reduces weight by about 40 per cent against traditional materials and largely increases the duration of flight, while the material's high strength ensures the strength, stiffness and stability of the overall drone.

Manufacturing Process

Plates are machined from stock 3K twill sheet over a 0/90 balanced unidirectional core, and booms are roll wrapped from unidirectional prepreg with fibre angles chosen for the load.

Supply Chain Coordination

Centre plates, arms, booms, mounts and propellers are produced as a matched set rather than sourced separately, so the airframe assembles as designed.

Quality Control

Plate profiles are cut to print and checked against the drawing, and frame sets are trial fitted before despatch.

Final Result

Drone parts became one of the four main CarbonWizer product groups, with airframes covering six-rotor, four-rotor, aerial and police drone platforms.

Customer Benefit

Roughly 40 per cent of airframe weight removed turns directly into flight time, which is usually the specification the end customer is actually buying.