Ultimate Quadcopter Design for AM - version 3

Last crawled date: 1 year, 10 months ago

Building up on version 1 & 2, this model is truly bionic as it combines topology optimisation & light weight structures. In essence it mimicks the bone structure with a spongy / foamy inside and a compact shell!

NB: Should you print this model, please feel free to use alternative #2 where openings allow removal of trapped support material - the clearance is 0.2 mm


Design Process =
I.
1) choice of battery type & dimensions
2) choice of maximum payload
3) choice of amount of helix / rotor blades
4) position of blades from centre
II.
1) fixed space in Cátia, exported as step file
2) maximum design space - keep in mind to access the battery / payload / rotor blades when mounting or unmounting
III.
1) Import both step files into altair and define boundary conditions
2) define payload. Feel free to play around to include "noise" for example unplanned forces due to crash etc
3) run optimisations, choose different modes especially regarding % of mass to be kept
IV.
1) now the real work starts: select 10 - 20 models which make sense from an engineering perspective
2) import optimised results in a stl modelling software (I used materialise 3-matic)
3) import original step files
4) redesign struts / connections with input from stl models. Avoid sharp edges, using fillets
V.
1) select a unit cell (for the lattice)
2) apply a lattice structure to the core of the struts
3) remesh the surface
4) convert the surface into a lattice
5) connect the core lattice to the Hull lattice