3D printing of high-performance composites for advanced aerial drones

Advanced aerial drones have extensive applications in industry, e.g., water resources management, warehouse operations, search & rescue, and geographic mapping. Current drone body frames mainly use low-temperature polymers with limited thermal and structural performance. In this project, high-temperature high-performance polymers and continuous carbon fiber composites will be used for 3D printing drone body frames. It can improve tensile strength and modulus by 16 and 34 folds, respectively, compared with standard polymers. It is a collaboration with SOTI Aerospace, which is focused on self-navigating aerial drones. The objective is to design, analyze, 3D print, and test drone body frames that meet or exceed SOTI requirements while minimizing weight. 3D printing allows for the fabrication of complex geometries with minimal materials waste. This way, SOTI can significantly improve its current drone models while reducing weight, materials waste, and cost.

Faculty Supervisor:

Kazem Fayazbakhsh

Student:

Partner:

SOTI Inc

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Information and cultural industries; Professional, scientific and technical services

University:

Toronto Metropolitan University

Program: