The capacity to manufacture complex structures directly without the need for a mold gives additive manufacturing (AM) technologies a major advantage compared with conventional manufacturing. An interesting and challenging field is to manufacture unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) components and models using three-dimensional (3D) printing. This study focuses on the design, preliminary aerodynamics analysis, manufacture, and assembly of a small UAV using fused deposition modeling (FDM) technology. From the preliminary aerodynamic analysis of the UAV model it was found that the highest of the UAV model is 14.67 at a 4° angle of attack, which corresponds with cruise airspeed of . The UAV model developed in this paper presents dense ribs for wings and formers for fuselage, all of them manufactured by FDM technology. The study also includes a description of the 3D printing procedure of the components of the UAV model and the results of the flight tests. Following the flight tests, it can be said that the UAV model made by FDM technology is stable and has a wide airspeed range available, stall characteristics are good, and it operates with good aerodynamic characteristics and high maneuverability. Thus, the manufacturing technique presented in this paper can be used in the fast and efficient manufacture of scale aircraft prototypes with the purpose of determining the flight performance by conducting flight tests.
Design and Testing of an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Manufactured by Fused Deposition Modeling
Journal of Aerospace Engineering ; 33 , 4
2020-05-07
Article (Journal)
Electronic Resource
Unknown
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