Drone Topology Optimization

For this individual project, I aimed to minimize the weight of a drone’s frame without reducing performance or allowing for failure while in use. I first used the ParetoWorks software to find a generalized optimized drone shape and refined this within SolidWorks to be symmetric and more aerodynamic. I applied a variable mesh to the frame structure with finer mesh near key component housing locations like the rotors and center compartment. I performed Finite Element Analysis (FEA) on the drone while in both hover and tilt modes. Hover analysis shows the stress when all rotors are acting at the same magnitude and the drone is floating in air. Tilt analysis shows the stress when two rotors are greater in magnitude to allow the drone to move forward, backward, or side to side. I created a final assembly of the drone with the weight minimized frame. The main cover, which sits on top of the frame, was created using surface modeling to ensure it could properly house the battery while remaining as light and aerodynamic as possible. The images below show key milestones throughout this project.