Design Optimization and Manufacturing of

Quadcopter using 3D Printing

Mahaveer K. Satra1 and Shreshta Shetty2

 produced in case of subtractive manufacturing, and allows a

Abstract—In the past few years aerial vehicles have become
extensively popular especially rotary winged vehicles like the
quadcopters. In this paper, we discuss an approach we used to
optimize the design a Quadcopter and to formulate appropriate
design solutions for the problem of designing a customized
quadcopter using 3D printing technology. Two approaches for
designing a customized quadcopter frame are discussed, a
Hybrid frame developed from a carbon fiber tubes and 3D
printed parts and a pure 3D printed frame. A comparison of the
two approaches has been discussed by highlighting the weight
and the efficiency parameters. Frame parts are designed using
mechanical simulation softwares like Autodesk Inventor and
SolidWorks and static analysis was carried out using ANSYS
Workbench.
much more efficient production process. The advantages of
additive manufacturing over traditional manufacturing can be
listed below –
A. Reduction in costs and time
One of the biggest and most immediate advantages of using
3D printing is the ability to create a number of iterative „test‟
designs and models to aid the product development process.
B. Globalized manufacturing.
Using additive manufacturing to fabricate their own
products at home with 3D printers, the only thing to
manufacture and distribute is a 3D CAD file.

I. INTRODUCTION C. Permanently and instantly available Spare parts

With any physical product there is a need of spare parts to
I N the past decade quadcopters have become increasingly
popular. Their agile motion and ability to collect a large
amount of data by having various modules attached to them
allow consumers and professionals to repair their products in
the event they break or are damaged. The cost of producing,
have fueled an increase interest in them. This abilities of storing and distributing these spare parts can be enormous, but
quadcopters have made them a preferred choice for military with home manufacturing, spare parts could be downloaded
applications like infrastructure mapping and surveillance. and made at home.
They are also used for delivery, photography, agriculture and D. Reduction in production waste.
several other applications by hobbyists.
By the nature of how it works, additive manufacturing
However with the increase in commercialization of
greatly reduces the waste incurred by traditional tooling
quadcopter, there is a dearth of customizable quadcopters. As
methods. When less waste material is produced, not only are
the needs of individuals vary vastly depending on the
less raw materials used but the need to remove, transport and
application, building a custom built quadcopter appears to be
discard waste by-products is reduced to a bare minimum, as
an attractive alternative. Traditional methods like casting are
too is the carbon footprint.
widely used to develop a quadcopter which aren‟t feasible for
In this paper, a description of the two design approaches
building a customized quadcopter as the cost involved in the
adopted to manufacture a quadcopter by 3D printing have
processes would be extremely high.
been discussed. We begin by describing the various
Recent advances in additive manufacturing technique have
components used for the quadcopter. Section III outlines the
made it possible to create products as per suite. 3D printing is
Methodology used for Analysis of the quad-copter and
an additive manufacturing process, producing objects by
calculation of the forces acting on it. Section IV gives a
adding only what is needed, along with any support material
detailed analysis of the Hybrid Model developed in Stage 1
required. It involves placing very thin layers of material on top
and the proposed modification. Chapter V details the need for
of one another to stack up and form the final object. This
modification in original design and draws out the various
process dramatically reduces the time, cost and waste
iterations based on analyses of different arm sections and
gives analysis of 3D printed model developed in stage 2.
This work was done at the Rapid Manufacturing Lab, Indian Institute of
Technology, Bombay in collaboration with Veermata Jijabai Technological
Institute.
II. COMPONENTS OF QUADCOPTER
1
Mahaveer K. Satra is working as a Senior Design Engineer at Larsen & The quadcopter comprises of various components which are
Toubro Limited, Mumbai, India. (mahaveersatra@gmail.com) explained below-
2
Shreshta Shetty is pursuing Masters of Science degree at the Department
of Mechanical Engineering, Carnegie Mellon University, Pennsylvania,
U.S.A. (shresta.shetty@gmail.com)
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017) 1

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3101401

A. Brushless DC motors
Brushless DC motors rotate the rotors/propeller either
clockwise or counter-clockwise and create upward force,
called thrust. The motors contain a circular configuration of
centre-facing coils, and a strong magnet (usually neodymium)
rooted in the rotor in the centre. The motors work by
providing pulses of DC current to the coils to create a
repelling and rotating electromagnetic field around the
magnet. The amount and sequence of power provided to the
coils directly affects the direction, speed, and thrust generated
by the rotor. Axi 2208/34 1100 kV motors have been used for
this project (kV means rpm per volt supplied).
B. Propellers
Propellers are in the form of aero foils that are fastened on
to the rotors so as to generate the lift. They are designated by
two measurements (both specified in inches):
1) The first number is the diameter of the imaginary disc
('arc') created by the spinning prop i.e. the length of prop from
tip to tip.
2) The second number is the pitch. The pitch measurement of
a prop indicates how far (in inches) the propeller will move
through the air per single revolution of the motor (i.e. every
single complete turn of the prop).
Example. Size mark: 10x4.5 (where 10 is diameter and 4.5 is
pitch).
C. Electronic Speed Controllers (ESC)
An electronic speed control or ESC is an electronic circuit
with the purpose to vary an electric motor's speed, its direction
and possibly also to act as a dynamic brake. It is a trapezoidal
wave generator. It produces 3 separate waves, one for each
wire on the motor (i.e. it converts DC to 3 phase AC).
Controlling the speed of the motor has nothing to do with
voltage or amps, but instead the timing of the current fed into
it.
D. Flight controller
The flight controller is the programmable computational
brain within the drone. Generally, it is a printed circuit board
with an Intel or ARM processing chip as the CPU.
E. Sensors
Sensors allow the vehicle to collect data about its state or its
surroundings. The sensors used in the quadrotor were:
1) Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU)
2) Altimeter
3) Global Positioning System (GPS)
F. Lithium Polymer Battery pack
Lithium Polymer Battery pack was used to power the
quadcopter mainly for its following advantages:
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017)
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3101401
1) Lithium-polymer batteries can sustain high discharge
current rates of up to 15C (continuous discharge) and 25C
(burst discharge) where ‘C’ is the rated charge holding
capacity of the battery
2) They are very light weight. This is extremely important as
keeping the weight as low as possible is a primary
requirement for flight.
G. 2.4 GHz Transmitter and receiver
The FlySky CT6A is a 2.4 GHz 6 channel transmitter-
receiver pair that enables the pilot to control throttle, yaw,
pitch, roll, flight mode, camera motion over the various
channels. The receiver output is connected to the flight
controller which then commands the ESCs to vary motor
speeds. The range is about 1000 meters.
III. METHODOLOGY
A. Calculation of static thrust
Calculations of static thrust are needed in order to ensure
that the proper propellers and motors have been selected. In
this section, we will discuss the methodology of static analysis
and also estimate the payload for the two frames that we have
tested. The thrust produced by a propeller is based on the
Momentum Theory. Momentum Theory is also well known as
Disk Actuator Theory.
Momentum Theory assumes that:
1) The flow is inviscid and steady (ideal flow), therefore the
propeller does not experience energy losses due to frictional
drag
2) The rotor is thought of as an actuator disk with an infinite
number of blades, each with an infinite aspect ratio
3) The propeller can produce thrust without causing rotation
in the slipstream.
The following parameters are used to calculate the thrust –
1. Power Consumed
The first step in calculating static thrust is determining the
power transmitted by the motors to the propellers in terms of
rpm. Power is calculated on the basis of the following
empirical relation:
P  k * N PF (1)
Where,
P = Power [Watts]
k = Propeller Constant
N = RPM [thousands]
PF = power Factor
2. Thrust Determination
The next step is to determine the thrust produced by a
propeller. Equation (2) gives thrust based on the Momentum
Theory.

T * D 2 *  * v * v (2)
4
2
Where, In the case of static analysis, for equilibrium, the thrust
T = thrust [N] generated will be exactly equal to the weight of the quad-
D = propeller diameter [m] copter. This is the nominal criterion for hovering. It is
v = velocity of air at the propeller [m/s] observed from the above schematic that the quad-copter is
∆v = velocity of air accelerated by the propeller [m/s] symmetrical. Hence, only a portion of the assembly is
ρ = density of air [1.225 kg/m3] considered for the purpose of analysis.
Hence, the analysis is done in a similar way as done for a
A commonly used rule is that velocity of the air at the cantilever beam subjected to a point load.
propeller is v=½Δv of the total change in air velocity: Thus for the following calculations we take total Thrust
Therefore, (3) is derived. force as –
 F  m* g
T * D 2 *  * (v)2 (3) (7)
8
Where,
F= Total Thrust Force [N]
g= acceleration due to gravity (9.81 m/s^2)

The bending stress induced on the frame section is given by –

( F * d * y)
b  (8)
I N . A.
Where,
 b = Bending Stress induced [MPa]
d= Distance between the motor centre and mounting frame
[mm]
Fig. 1. Free Body Diagram of a quad-copter y= Distance of outermost fiber from the neutral axis [mm]
I N .A. = Polar Moment of Inertia of the quadcopter arm
Equation (4) gives the power that is absorbed by the propeller
from the motor. [mm^4]
T* v 2* P
P  v  (4) IV. HYBRID MODEL – STAGE 1
2 T
In Stage I, a Hybrid model of quadcopter frame was
Equation (5) shows the result of solving (4) for Δv and developed based on the payload and the power requirement.
substituting it into equation (3). In doing so, Δv is eliminated A. Design and Assembly
and torque can be calculated.
1
  3
T   * D2 *  * P2  (5)
 2 

3. Thrust Mass
Finally, it is advantageous to express the results of (5) in terms
of mass. Newton‟s Law, F=ma, is used to obtain (6)
1
 2
3

2 * D 2
*  * P 
m   (6)
g
Where, m=Thrust mass

B. Theoretical Force Distribution for Static Analysis
In the above diagram, the weight of the quad-copter is
assumed to act in the downward direction at the geometric
centre of the model. Moreover, the net thrust generated by the
copter is split into four components as shown. The top centre
tips of each of the four motors are taken as the points of
application of thrust force (points at which the generated thrust
acts).
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017)
Fig. 2. Part carbon rod-part 3D printed original frame
A Hybrid Frame was designed for the quadrotor. Skeleton was
developed using hollow carbon tubes of Outer Diameter 8
mm. These tubes were fixed by using 3D printed connectors
and araldite. The housing for central units namely the
microcontroller, ESC and Lithium Polymer batteries was
developed by 3D printing. Also this model made use of
custom made motor accessories namely the motor shaft and
3

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3101401

hub which have been printed in-house. Easily available smiley 3) Study Results
balls have been used as landing gear in this quad-copter.
Shown below is the image of the fully assembled quadcopter. a) Static Stress Analysis

Fig. 3. Fully assembled quad-copter- Stage 1

Fig. 6. Von-Mises Stress Analysis Results of Original Hybrid Design

TABLE I
STATIC STRESS RESULTS OF HYBRID MODEL
Name Type Min Max
1.199e-005 2.15742e+001
VON: von
Stress1 MPa MPa
Mises Stress
Fig. 4. 3D printed motor accessories Node: 11628 Node: 21145

B. FEM Analysis of the Hybrid Design b) Static Deflection Results

Solidworks student edition software was used to perform the

FEM Analysis of the Hybrid Model
1) Assumptions

a) Constant material properties

b) Negligible axial force in carbon fiber

2) Loads and Fixtures

The thrust force value is fixed as 10 N per motor so as to
standardize the analysis and allow systematic comparison of
all the frames developed. The central portion was fixed for the
analysis.

Fig. 7. Deflection Analysis Results of Original Hybrid Design

Fig. 5. Load application and fixtures on the frame

International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017) 4
 TABLE II and also is suitable for mounting the other components.
STATIC DEFLECTION RESULTS OF HYBRID MODEL
Iterations were carried out to identify the best possible
Name Type Min Max
dimension which gives maximum strength within all the
URES:
0 mm 2.2567 mm constraints. The region with minimum or no stresses were
Displacement1 Resultant
Node: 2645 Node: 4175 identified and the excess material in that region was removed
Displacement
so as to balance out the material addition. This redistribution
resulted in a design that was stronger than the previous design
4) Conclusion
with a reduction in the component weight.
From the above analyses of the original hybrid design, it is
observed that the all stress, strain and deflection values are The maximum thickness of the arm was increased to 20mm,
within limits. However in practicality when trials were carried while the thickness at the mounts was retained at 10mm.
out using the hybrid frame, it was observed that at higher Fillets were provided to reduce the effect due to stress
rpms, the frame would inevitably fail at the junction points concentration in the regions with sudden change in the cross
section. Slots were made in the regions with minimum stress
between the carbon rods and the motor mounts.
Most of these failures were attributed to the fact that the to reduce the weight without losing the strength.
frame was not perfectly balanced. The frame suffered from a
major alignment problem especially due to the unequal lengths
of the quad-copter arms and the lack of symmetry of the
central battery and microcontroller housing unit. In addition,
fabrication of 3 D printed hubs and motor shafts was another
hurdle in the path, as they had poor strength to withstand high
motor rpms and the slightest misalignment of the hub-motor
shaft assembly would result in excessive vibrations and
ultimately failure. Also, since carbon rods are stronger in
tension but weaker in bending, they provided no safety against
lateral bending and shear failures
The possible remedial modifications for the above
mentioned causes of failure would be:

a) To change to a new design involving minimal manual

assembly so as to avoid any human error in
alignment Fig. 8. Image of 3-D Model of Design 1

b) To use identical standard motor accessories to avoid 2) Design Features

non uniformity
c) Using a 3D Printed design that is capable of
withstanding lateral loads with minimal deflection in
comparison to the carbon fiber rods
These modifications are discussed in detail in the following
section, with the new design developments and their analyses.
V. 3D PRINTED MODEL – STAGE 2
Three design iterations were performed for the 3D printed
Model of Stage 2. ABS was selected as the material of choice
for all the three iterations due to its flexibility and durability.
A. Design 1
1) Design Concept
The first design concentrated mainly on increasing the
strength of the arms of the quadcopter by improving the
geometrical properties. As bending forces are dominant, it was
decided to use a section with a higher moment of inertia,
without appreciable increase in weight. The critical regions
with highest stress values were identified and the thickness in
that region was increased so as to form a Rectangular section.
The Rectangular section gives a good strength- to-weight ratio
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017)
The main idea behind this design was to increase the cross-
sectional area at the critical section to reduce the induced
stresses and to increase the moment of inertia are the base of
the section about the neutral axis to reduce the bending
stresses. The rectangular section, satisfied both the criteria
without much material addition.
The main feature of this design was the redistribution of
material. It was concluded that as the stresses in the region
between the two mounts and motor were minimum, the
material in that region can be removed and redistributed so
that the weight constraint is always satisfied. As reduction in
the component weight was just a secondary objective, the
removal of excess material was of greater advantage for
increasing the strength of the component. The notch
dimensions were retained for better adaptability.
However, it was observed that though the component was
stronger, the induced deformation and chances of torsional
failure were very high which can cause problems during the
flight due to slight variation in orientation of the motor which
would indirectly affect flight stability. As the maximum arm
thickness was 20mm, the material cost would increase.
Increase in arm thickness would increase the manufacturing
cost and manufacturing time. However, the biggest problem in
the design was the deflection, which would affect flight
5
stability.
3) Analysis
The analysis of the design arm was carried out on Ansys
Workbench 15.0 and the following results were obtained.
Fig. 9. Von-Mises Stresses induced in Design 1
The analysis of the arm showed that although the stresses at
the critical area had reduced, the stresses induced due to stress
concentration were very high. The stresses were at maximum
at the base of the plate near its mounting to the frame. Thus,
the fillet area was increased further; however, the change was
not appreciable. Also the maximum fillet radius was restricted
due to the presence of the notch.
The stresses at the base were found to be around 1.5 MPa.
However, due to stress concentration, the stresses at the base
near the mounts were 2.9 MPa. Though the design was safe
within the stress limits, the high deformation value showed
that the component life was lesser than that required.
Fig. 10. Total Deformation in Design 1
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017)
4) Conclusion
Thus, though the stresses at the base of the arm reduced, the
maximum deformation in the arm increased thus reducing the
component life. Also, considering the monetary aspect of the
entire manufacturing process, this design was not suitable for
the application. Hence, this design was discarded.
However, some features of this design were retained for
further iterations. The concept of weight reduction was the
biggest advantage of the design and thus was continued in
further iterations. It was realized that increase in effective
cross-section at critical areas where stress is acting would be
necessary to reduce the induced stresses and dynamic
performance of the plate. Thus, though this design was not
suitable for the application, it created a good base for further
iterations.
B. Design 2
1) Design Concept
The second design was an improvement over the first
design, where an I-section was used instead of a uniform
rectangular section. The basic idea remained the same; i.e. to
increase the thickness at the base section and to increase the
moment of inertia. I-section provided the necessary strength to
the component without much increase in the weight.
Few features of the previous designs were retained. The
material from the regions of minimum stresses was removed
to improve the scope for use of a thicker plate. The maximum
thickness of the plate was 20mm and the end dimensions were
retained.
Fig. 11. Image of 3-D Model of Design 2
2) Design Features
This design was similar to the first design except that the
rectangular section was replaced by an I-section. The I-section
increased the stiffness of the arm retaining the original
dimensions of the base arm. Thus, the maximum thickness of
the plate was 20mm; and also, all the constraints were satisfied
as the same design was retained.
The I-section not only provided adequate bending strength
to the plate but also reduced the shear stress at that section. By
removing the unnecessary material between the slots, the
weight of the plate was reduced by 20% of the original weight.
6
However, manufacturing still remained a major problem as the
induced cost were still very high for using this design for the
required application. The deformation induced had reduced
compared to the rectangular cross-sectional arm.
3) Analysis
The analysis of the design arm was carried out on Ansys
Workbench 15.0 and the following results were obtained.
The stresses at the base of the arm had drastically
reduced due to the use of I-sectional cross-section. The
maximum static Von-Mises stresses were around 2.6 MPa, but
the deformation value is still high compared to the permissible
limits thus showing that the life of component is lower than
required.
Fig. 12. Von-Mises Stresses induced in Design 2
Fig. 13. Total Deformation in Design 2
4) Conclusion
Though the design was adaptable for the existing assembly,
it had an inherent problem of high deflection. Also,
International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017)
manufacturing this design would require an additional
investment with increased manufacturing time. Also, the other
induced costs due to the material is high. Hence, this design
needed further improvement.
C. Design 3
1) Design Concept
This particular design was made with the aim of striking a
common optimum solution in terms of manufacturing ease and
structural strength. As it has been discussed in earlier chapters,
it was an option to increase the thickness to improve its
bending strength. Thus, the thickness of the plate was
increased. Due to this increase in thickness the weight of the
plate would increase significantly. In order to control the
weight of the plate, some material was removed from the
region where the stress level was low. This led to reduction in
weight and it was within permissible limits.
Fig. 14. Image of 3-D Model of Design 3
The design is primarily inspired by the letter „V‟. A
triangular cross-section was used so that the material is less
where the stress values are low. One of the main features of
this particular design is manufacturability of the design.
2) Design Features
The most important feature of this design is its triangular
cross-sectional area. It can be manufactured with ease. The
design requires very few changes in the design of the
assembly. Thus, it is a highly feasible design.
Moreover, the weight of the arm is within permissible limits.
It has been approximated to around 179 grams using 3D
modelling software. The triangular section means a better
bending strength, leading to better static and dynamic
performance. Thus, it was expected that life of the assembly
would improve due to reduction in overall induced stresses
and deformation.
3) Analysis
The analysis of the design arm was carried out on Ansys
Workbench 15.0 and the following results were obtained.
As was expected, the Von-Mises stress reduced due to
7
increase in thickness of the plate. The value of maximum Von- D. Comparison of Designs
Mises stress was roughly 1.09 MPa. Thus, it was well within All the design alternatives that were formulated have been
the permissible values for static failure. The deformation discussed so far. The following table gives a brief summary of
induced was around 0.2 mm which is well under the limits. the various advantages and disadvantages of each design.
Thus, the design was considered safe in static conditions.
Figure 15 and 16 shows the contour plot of Von-Mises
TABLE III
stresses and total deformation in the arm respectively. SUMMARY OF ALL DESIGNS
Characteristics Design 1 Design 2 Design 3
170.89 179.71
Weight 146 grams
grams grams
Static Stress 2.93 MPa 2.60 MPa 1.09 MPa

Deformation 0.696 mm 0.495 mm 0.208 mm

It is clear from the table that Design 3 was most viable option.
It was also much easier to manufacture. Since, strength was an
important criterion for finalizing the design and since Design 3
satisfied all structural constraints, it was finalized.

CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK

The experiments provided promising insights related to the
design of quadcopter frame using 3D printing. The integration
of rapid manufacturing and design process to create
quadcopters customized to need has achieved through the
experiments. Further research can be done by interchanging
Fig. 15. Von-Mises induced in Design 3
the materials used for 3D printing. Future work could also
focus on expanding this work for other aerial vehicles.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

We gratefully acknowledge invaluable guidance from our

mentor Dr. H.P. Khairnar and support from Dr. K. P.
Karunakaran, for allowing us to carry out this project in the
Rapid Manufacturing Lab, Indian Institute of Technology,
Bombay.

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International conference on Advances in Thermal Systems, Materials and Design Engineering (ATSMDE2017) 8