In this Post the manufacturing process of the Quadrotor used on the HyTAQ is illustrated. In case you have not seen the video of this system here is the link: HyTAQ
Structural parts of this miniature quadrotor has been fabricated using the shape deposition manufacturing. To enhance the rigidity f the elements and also make the system more shock resistance, elements machined of aluminum sheets have been deposited in the parts. Also to eliminate the need to wires, the aluminum elements has been used to distribute power.
The first step was to machine the aluminum parts and wax block to the prepare the negative mold.
The aluminum parts are then placed in the wax block properly.
Liquid poly-urethane plastic with a shore hardness of 70D has been molded in the wax block.
The parts are then taken out and assembled.
Comments
thanks mark. I can't disclose very detailed process on the cage yet, but basically it's just a light weight and crash resistance cylinder. Two bearings are mounted on its bases which allow the shafts extended from the body can rotate freely with respect to the cage.
Very nice Arash, it's fascinating to see how these pieces were put together. I hope you make more posts like this in future!
Do you have any notes on how the cage was processed?
well, this quadrotor was not going to be used solely inside the cage. We use it very often for other types of expriments as well. In those circumstances the safety structure shown in picture above is used to protect propellers, but the structure should be stiff enough to handle the crashes.
I wonder why they used an aluminum structure, with the roll cage impact resistance of the arms shouldnt be an issue.