15.5" ISR Drone

The project objective was to build a 15.5" heavy lift drone with full proximity awareness and high ground clearance. I led a team that took this drone from initial concept to successful flight testing in 3 weeks.

Design

I designed the master reference geometry, internal electronics mounting, and legs for this drone. With my team, I manufactured the final assembly using composite routing and 3D printing. After preflight checks we determined the arms needed additional stiffening to resist vibrational feedback from the motors. I developed a TPU bumper system to pre-tension the arms to that they remain fixed under the forces from the motors.

Project Management

I was both the project manager and lead mechanical engineer on this project. I directed a team of 2 other mechanical engineers and 2 electrical engineers. We delivered a robust drone under an extremely tight budget and timeline.

Manufacturing

This drone was designed for high volume production. Manufacturing is made simple by using 2D carbon fiber plates as the structural interior and carbon fiber tubes for the arms. These can be milled quickly at large scale, allowing for rapid manufacturing.