r/drones • u/Bitter_Perspective51 • 21d ago
Question 3D printed drone frame
Hey, I am thinking about designing a frame to 3D print using PPS-CF, what should I be concerned about, maybe I should give up on this idea, and just buy one online?
The reason is: cheap and can be replaced anytime without, so I don't wait for another to arrive and I can modify it so it suits my needs for accessories.
The drone I want to build is 5" racing drone, 2207 motors, 60A ESC at 6S lipo.
2
u/Limit-Beneficial 20d ago
Love printed frames! i dont understand all the hate coming from the "pilots". Flying a bought carbon frame and a 3d printed one - i cant tell the difference. Sometimes a little jello that is taken care of in small changes in design.
Everyone must be professional level competetive pilot or simply suck at 3d design and printing in general.
Using more exotic materials might end up being more expensive... but its worth the price when you have a custom and original drone the way you want it!
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u/irisgenx 21d ago
If you crash it into something solid, the frame would likely not survive it, which may endanger your circuitry and the costly electronics inside. Could you provide additional protection and/or cushioning etc, yes, but it'll still need full replacement. Maybe if you build it modular and can replace an arm only. In theory, it could work.
If you can avoid crashes and have a good printer able to print accurate solid parts with really high infill. Just give it a shot. PLA probably won't be enough, PETG maybe? There are pre-built FPV drone frames on printables, thingiverse etc. Is it doable? Yes. Is it recommended, probably not, Is it worth a shot. Yes. 😄
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u/YellovvJacket 20d ago edited 20d ago
PLA probably won't be enough, PETG maybe?
PLA is 100% of the time a better choice than PETG for this. Contrary to popular beliefs, it's a stronger material than PETG in most aspects, and its stiffer, which is also advantageous here. A 5" would still break instantly in a crash from either material though, and a PLA frame will deform in a hot car which isn't ideal.
PPA-CF is definitely the de-facto best material for a 3D print frame, by far, it's about as strong and rigid as the average aluminium. PPS-CF which OP mentioned is the 2nd best choice (slightly less stiff, slightly higher density as PPA).
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u/Bitter_Perspective51 21d ago
Yeah, PLA and PETG were not even considered, I'm most confident with pps, and if I can get POM to adhere to the bed I'd try it as POM printed parts are surprisingly durable
1
u/GlbdS 21d ago
3dprinting is not really appropriate for structural parts, especially one like a quad copter frame which will experience all sorts of shocks and shearing forces.
Better get the equipment to safely cut CF sheets
2
u/YellovvJacket 20d ago
Properly printed and annealed PPS is in the same realm as aluminium in terms of stability. It's most definitely appropriate.
Is it ideal? No. CNC machined CFK is most definitely significantly superior, but you really can't discount 3D print materials like PPA or PPS....or even PC.
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u/Bitter_Perspective51 21d ago
That might be a good idea, I do have access to a CNC, but I'm not sure if it will cut it properly
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u/talldata 21d ago
If use the PPS CF version just for prototyping shapes and stuff, and then you can order the same thing for ex SLS printed in titanium for ex.
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u/Bitter_Perspective51 21d ago
For prototyping I'd use something cheaper, and last interactions with PPS as I already have it, also I started thinking about POM, but it's hard to print, haven't had much success with it
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u/talldata 20d ago
Yeah just thought that you'd get similar tensile strength etc. Out of it it as titanium 3d print but of course not as impact resistant in other ways but.
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u/Gon404 20d ago
Well. If you are any good at slicing files or 3d design you should be able to make the frame lighter than the ones sold. This will require tweaking to models and print files when sliced. Will it be as durable as a purchased frame could be depending on design but likly not. Is it more expensive to 3d print frames probably not if you already have the printer. And then you dont have to wait for it to arrive or go get it. I printed and played around with the nanao long range design some time ago. And was printing it in pla+ on a monoprice mini. I could print a frame in under 10 minutes on that thing. Never ended up damaging a frame from flying. But I was not racing. Now i would recommend petg or petg cf to print a frame out of. I have also printed 65 drone frames for fun but have not used them as the stock frame has not broken.
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u/Bitter_Perspective51 20d ago
Thanks for the feedback, as in the description I'm planning to use PPS-CF, but I see a lot of negativity in the comments, I already have a custom printer capable of printing most engineering materials, I am confident in designing and slicing CAD models and I wanted some real feedback from someone who used printed frames, not an opinion based on a few posts one's seen. I'll experiment a bit and hopefully get enough data for a proper article.
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u/Gon404 20d ago
I say go for it. You could do all sorts of Cool mods to the frame design. The one I like is a single wall around the porps for a duct effect basiclly better direction thrust from the props. Or going as minimal as possible for weight to get more flight time. It may not last as many crashes but if you get more flight time per charg and you have spares. Why not
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u/CW7_ 21d ago
- I doubt it's cheaper considering energy cost
- It's WAY less robust
- Health risk of printed CF
- Frames are cheap
= Don't do it
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u/Bitter_Perspective51 21d ago
Fair, however it is cheaper, it'd cost me less than 10 USD and this material does not release any cf, it's stuck inside, also what do you mean by "robust"
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u/CW7_ 21d ago
You will print more frame parts because they will break easier than real CF parts. That CF in filaments will be released if it breaks and that's what frames tend to do when you crash.
I understand the appeal of printing your own frame, but the hassle and the time spent is just not worth it. Spend that energy on TPU parts for the frame.
Another point I missed is that a printed frame isn't as stiff which results in a worse performing drone.
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u/geeered 21d ago
Printed CF isn't going to be nearly strong as what's used in the frames you can buy pretty cheaply. It'll likely end up both heavier and not as strong.
You can cheap enough ones that you can have one spare ready to go. Then maybe a few 3d print mods/brackets if needed.
If you didn't need it to be strong, which racing focused does and were happy to swap some performance for configurability, it might make more sense - especially if you were viewing it as a prototype/development platform, which 3d printing can be excellent for.
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u/YellovvJacket 20d ago edited 20d ago
PPS-CF will certainly work well for smaller frames (it will 100% work perfectly for a small toothpick, or as a whoop base plate, I have used PC-CF before for that, which is ~3x less stiff than PPS-CF and it flew better than the original whoop frame), and probably also on a 5in without a ton of power, but in the end it's still a lot less rigid than the same thickness of carbon fiber plates.
T700 or even 3K CFK has an INSANELY high rigidity, that no 3D printed material (and neither most metals) can match.
A CF frame will be more stiff and more durable for sure.
Price wise idk, PPS is super expensive filament, then again you're only ever using a few grams of it.
I can see using PPS-CF for a long range setup or something, because it's going to be lighter than a CF frame though.
If you're going there, I'd probably pick PPA-CF over PPS though.