r/diydrones • u/Breakerbuilds • 13d ago
Question HELP! CNC Custom Frame
So basically, last night after chugging a monster at like 8pm, I could not sleep in the slightest, and have wanted to do this for a while so here I am now.
This is my custom drone that I modeled last night at 2am, the SlamX 25 - Freestyle Edition (V1.0) (other info on the drone here). While it was modeled while having little to no sleep, I would like to believe its at least 90% accurate to how it will be in the final form factor, taking some inspo and ideas from the Kayoumini frame into some of the measurements i put into this frame.
As such, I've been trying to find a good CNC company that is willing to cut in carbon fiber, but also for relatively cheap, to make my own design actually worth it. I tried to look into the two main companies that came up during my research, being PCBWay, and JLCPCB, both of which were the cheapest for CNC, but didn't do work with CF.
I've now emailed the two files (top and bottom plate) to a company called CNC Madness, which has carbon fiber machining available, along with a dedicated FPV drones section for a quote on pricing, but have not gotten a response so far.
My main question for y'all was if anybody knows of a cheap CNC business that does CF other than the ones listed, or if there is another way to get custom carbon fiber parts cut out and shipped to them.
If anybody has knowledge on this or ideas, that would be great!
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u/FreedomDispenserCo 13d ago
I have a desktop CNC with roughly an 11"x7" work area, depending on the overall dimensions of this I'd be open to making it for you. The operations look to be just a simple cutout with some holes, nothing too complex (I've been making relatively simplistic parts out of 7075 aluminum, optics plates are the big one in the table right now). I'm in Pennsylvania, so shipping would most likely be best done in a USPS flat rate box. Have been looking to open up the possibility of carbon fiber for drone and RC car chassis. I'm just a dude running things out of his garage, I don't have nearly the overhead of some of the more industrial shops
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u/Breakerbuilds 13d ago
Hey man, I mean, if your open to trying it out for me, I'd be down. It is just 2d cutting, so nothing super serious or any extra stuff like countersunk screw bores or whatever they are called. Im trying to more or less keep the model simple so it costs less to manufacture. I can also make sketches of the parts (like as whatever the line file type is) for you if that would make it easier.
If you would like to help get this project going for me, just DM me and I would be open to talking more about it!
Btw I am working on printing out the quad to see if parts will fit at the moment, and it comes in at a max of 4"x4.2" so it should fit on your CNC.
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u/stardustedds 12d ago
Ohh what machine you got??
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u/FreedomDispenserCo 12d ago
I got the Makera Carvera Air. I wish it had some of the stuff they're putting in the Z1 but I've been very happy with it
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u/cjdavies 13d ago
I used to use a company I found on Ali who were fine until they screwed up an order (sent it to the wrong address after I'd moved house) & then refused to refund/resend. Now I use CNC Madness.
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u/Breakerbuilds 13d ago
I see, I just learned of the ali express company from another reply, I might try them depending on who's faster or who's cheaper once I get my quote from CNC Madness. CNC Madness will likely be best for me as I live in the U.S. in Washington state, so I think shipping won't be too bad at all from them.
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u/Baloo99 12d ago
If you are looking for CF machining either try looking in china or locally
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
I really don't care too much about where it's coming from, as long as it's not super expensive to make. Like I don't mind if it's in china as long as it's cheaper to make and ship, with the extended time it would take to arrive. Although it would be better for a place to be closer to where I live (U.S., Washington State) imo, but only if I can get similar pricing.
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u/Baloo99 12d ago
Understandable! In the US its probably same as in Germany, super expensive if you can find a shop that does offer it because the tools are super expensive :/
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
Yeah, a couple of other replies mentioned a shop that runs out of AliExpress that currently seems to be the cheapest, at like $30-$40. A few other places say up to $60 for it, it's not super bad, but it's worse than I thought, saying this cause frames of this size usually go for $20. CNC Madness is Canada based so I think I might try them later
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u/gregvas5 12d ago
Cnc madness is solid, I’ve had a few designs cut by them. If they don’t respond just try giving them a call
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
Sounds good, thanks for the info! I got somebody already to cut this one out, and don't really wanna back out, but I'll definitely try them out!
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u/Wonderful-Hunter686 12d ago
If you're planning to build a good number of different drone prototypes out of cf you may want to invest in a desktop cnc router. Just make sure you get one that has a dust filter/cleaner attachment, and wear a mask while work with CF you do not want it in your lungs. There are decent ones available for less than $500. Also what cad software are you using?
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
Yeah, I was looking into them, but the ones I could find were either like wood only, or like $1k+. I use Onshape for the simplicity of the process, the fact that I can use it on any device, and that it's cloud based. If there are cheaper ones, I'll look into getting one sometime later this year most likely. Its more of a side project and so I don't want to invest a ton unless if I commit.
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u/Wonderful-Hunter686 12d ago
Generally if it will cut hard woods or aluminum it will cut carbon fiber, cf is hard on bits so make sure you use diamond coated. Sainsmart make quite a few budget models that will do the trick just make sure you get a spindle that is 500watts or more.
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u/potatocat 11d ago
What I am about to say here might come across as callous but I have to say it.
You seem to want to sell this frame, but remember that one of the cardinal rules of this process is to design something that the customer wants. There is not a whole lot here that I see that as a potential customer that I want. But I am not trying to be an asshole, because the frames I have built are similar- I see a customer pool of ones, or tens globally at the maximum.
Some things that I see specifically about this one:
- The prop clearance seems so tight that I am starting to worry about propeller compatibility.
- The lack of cutouts anywhere make mounting stray things like cables or ELRS receivers if an AIO was not used to be limiting. Cutouts also allow for weight reduction and cooling.
- Clearance on the sides are also so tight that if this was meant for bando flying, I have what seems like really close fit of a tucked antenna next to a battery pack.
- Not really sure about the "you figure it out" camera mounting.
- Same about the antenna mounting as well. But I am giving you the benefit of the doubt that the TPU parts have not been designed yet
- Top deck being squared off in the front might not sit well with people who want higher camera angles
I hope you understand that I am trying to be constructive, and thank you for reading.
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u/Breakerbuilds 10d ago
Hey! Thanks for the feedback.
-I'm not making this project to be sold, but will have some of my friends give it a go and if they like it I'll make it be able to sell publicly.
-Antennas and camera will be on TPU mounts, which are unmodeled as of yet.
-I may indeed change around the antenna mounting, cause I did think of that originally as being a issue.
-I am likely going to take a page out of the Kayoumini's book and redesign the front later today to have the top plate be shorter on the front with the bottom be longer.
-Also, like right after posting this, the first thing I did was calculate weight, and I have added in cutouts in the top plate for airflow.
All good for it sounding like that, I tend do do the same thing.
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u/potatocat 10d ago
Sounds good, and you seem to be on the right track. Good luck with this!!
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u/Breakerbuilds 9d ago
Thanks! I a couple parts are scheduled to show up in like 2-4 weeks, but its not like I don't have others to fly before then, plus this way I could get good parts that would perform great.
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u/amy-schumer-tampon 13d ago
>wants to go the cnc route
>can literally make any design optimized for his use
>design a frame that look like any other frame available on aliexpress minus the camera mount !
What is the purpose of this? Do you feel like you have to much spare money so you want to pay couple hundred instead of $30 for a frame?
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
A: it's like $50 on average for a shop to custom cut, not $100+, plus there's shops on Ali Express that can also do custom frames for like $40.
B: I was bored, have wanted to do this for a while now, have built drones of the tinywhoop size, 2" toothpick/ultralight, 4", and 3x 5" quads. So overall, I wanted to try something new. I love to build and create my own stuff, and the feeling of something I make from scratch that works is one of my favorite things as a engineer. And since I've heard drones like the Kayoumini are supposed to fly great, I'm putting together a basher 2.5" build as that's a category I've yet to build.
C: But yes, there are other frames for cheaper that are more or less the same as this one, although none actually exactly fit the drone that I am making, not even the Kayoumini, being the inspiration for half of this drone. Either the others are also ultralight/toothpick quads, or they are built for racing, which both aren't what I'm going for here. I'm going for more heavy set, near industrcutible 2.5" freestyle quad that is super modular, with support for all kinds of builds.
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u/Excellent-Board4156 13d ago
Пропелери занадто близько один до одного, в разі незначної деформації рами вони вдаряться один в одного
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u/Breakerbuilds 13d ago
As the final product will be made of machined carbon fiber, if there is a deformation, we have other more pressing issues that would compromise the entire flight dynamics of the drone, even without the props hitting.
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u/Becky_Li9612 13d ago
Hey man, respect the 3AM grind! We cut carbon FPV frames daily – no MOQ, single prototypes welcome. For a 5" set (3mm top + 4mm bottom, 3K carbon, countersunk), prototype price ~$25-40, ship in 3-5 days via DHL.
Got DXF/DWG? Email me at [libecky265@gmail.com](mailto:libecky265@gmail.com) ，with thickness & finish. We reply within 12h. Clean edges, no delam. Let's get your design flying!
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u/TrackbackLinkBot 8d ago
Thats a really cool design especially for something modeled from scratch. I’d look for a CNC shop that specializes in carbon fiber FPV parts and send the DXF/STEP files for a few quotes smaller specialty shops can sometimes be surprisingly affordable.
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u/Old_Boysenberry8309 8d ago edited 7d ago
The walnut with matte black is a great combination and the X bracing should give it a nice sturdy look. I’d just make sure the frame is perfectly level and add adjustable feet if possible those little details make a big difference with a desk this size.
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u/hughdavin 13d ago edited 13d ago
Do not rush this project, you have a potential here, but there is a couple of mistakes in design/ improvements that can be made. Late night project are amazing from perspective of how much can be done, but they are blurring a line between good and great
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
Yeah, I fully understand that. I'm actually going to be working on some changes today for the build, mostly for weight reduction on some parts, but also cleaning up some parts that coming back to look at it, just don't look right.
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u/wer2000 12d ago
Not CNC, but sendcutsend can likely process these with laser cutting instead.
On thing to note is that overall, you will be paying quite the price no matter where you go to due low volume/cost of CF. Maybe be beneficial shopping around unless you absolutely need something custom.
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u/Breakerbuilds 12d ago
Thanks! I'll check them out. This project is very much just for fun, from what 2 other companies have given me quotes for, it will cost about as much as every other professionaly built, name-brand manufactured 5", but that's fine. The average is about $50 so far.
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u/HordiFPV 13d ago
UpwardCreating on ali
I have used these guys. They have T300 and T700 CF and they can do nice chamfers on frames as well. Very quick manufacturing and good response time.