Other NUAV Projects
A model of the Swarm Carrier drone in a two-bay configuration.
Before becoming a leader of NUAV, I spent my first year working on parts for the Swarm Carrier drone. This project was run by the founders of NUAV. The drone’s purpose was to carry six smaller research drones, called Frogs, and deploy them in the middle of the air. Then the Frogs would land back inside the Swarm Carrier once it landed. This means that the Swarm Carrier had to carry its weight, the weight of the mechanism that stores the drones, and the weight of six small research drones. While Swarm Carrier was in development, I designed several components for it and the Multidrop mechanism inside.
Designing Drone-Guiding Flanges
An earlier version of my flange design with four supports instead of three
A slow-motion video of a Frog falling into the flanges of the Multidrop assembly
One of the first projects I tackled was redesigning the flanges for guiding the research drone into the Multidrop payload. Initially, these flanges were made only out of wooden panels but were insufficiently supported. So, I chose to implement several points of support using 3D-printed L-brackets with ribs. As a result, the flanges were able to act as rigid bodies and withstand the weight of the Frog.
After working on the flanges, I helped design iterations of the corner joints of the Swarm Carrier drone. These joints needed to support square carbon fiber tubing while using 3D-printed components and carbon fiber plating. I designed these joints to have two large 3D-printed sections. The base section had tabs that aligned with carbon fiber plates. The outer section aligned with the inner ridges and interfaced with the carbon fiber tube. Then, long M3 screws would run through the tube and clamp the sections and plates together. This would create a tight seal between the carbon fiber tubes.
A multibody part model of the corner joint.
Designing UAV Corner Joints
Another challenge I worked on was understanding how feasible it would be to 3D print hinges for some of our clamping mechanisms. Based on a design online, I changed different parameters of the hinge’s shape to make it easy to print while minimizing slop. After printing several test pieces I found a combination of shaft diameter, body gap, and shaft dimensions that were reliable.
A write-up summarizing my hinge findings.
Designing Single Part 3D Printed Hinges
Implementing Hinges
I integrated these into several parts that interfaced between the Swarm Carrier square frame pieces and the Multidrop circular frame pieces. I designed two hinge-like mechanisms that used a 3D-printed base with carbon fiber plates as reinforcement. I also designed grommets made out of TPU that wrapped around the frame members to distribute clamping forces over a greater area. One hinge design uses screws to clamp components together while the other uses a latch. Both of these components were integrated into the Swarm Carrier drone and were able to hold payload pieces together.
A model of the square-to-circular interface that used clamping screws.
A model of the square-to-circular interface that used a latch.
An interface mounted onboard a piece of square tubing