Scalable UAV Component Production with HP Multi Jet Fusion

HP Additive Manufacturing Solutions examines the use of HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF) technology for manufacturing UAV components ranging from compact quadcopter airframes to components for Category 1 and larger drone systems.

The evaluation centers on the HP Jet Fusion 5600 series and HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 material enabled by Evonik, highlighting lightweight material characteristics, isotropic mechanical performance, manufacturing scalability, and cost competitiveness compared with conventional injection molding.

Manufacturing UAV Components with HP MJF

The HP Jet Fusion 5600 series features a build volume of 380 × 284 × 380 mm, enabling elongated and volumetric UAV components to be produced within a single build. Parts such as engine mounts, brackets, battery clips, camera fairings, and other components can be nested within the build volume without the dedicated tooling required for injection molding.

Combined with HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 enabled by Evonik, the platform produces lightweight components with isotropic mechanical performance for both internal assemblies and external aircraft structures. The document examines representative use cases to demonstrate production scalability and compare manufacturing costs across different production volumes.

Use Case: Fixed-Wing UAV Engine Mount

One use case examines a fixed-wing UAV engine mount redesigned for production with HP MJF. The redesigned 9 g component incorporates an integrated aerodynamic fairing while eliminating protective covers and reducing the number of screws required during assembly.

The engine mount geometry allows up to 366 parts to be produced in a single build on the HP Jet Fusion 5600 series. According to HP’s analysis, this corresponds to annual production volumes exceeding 180,000 components per printer, with estimated internal production costs of approximately $3 per part.

Use Case: Quadcopter Airframe

A second use case examines a 260 mm quadcopter airframe designed to demonstrate the scalability of HP MJF. The design combines four arms with a central electronics chassis and is intended to be assembled in seconds.

Each build accommodates 655 components, comprising 524 arms and 131 chassis sections. This corresponds to production of more than 200 complete drones per day, or approximately 60,000 annually per printer. HP estimates internal production costs of $1.54 per arm and $6.11 per chassis, resulting in a total airframe cost of $7.65.

The paper also compares production costs for Multi Jet Fusion and injection molding across different production volumes, illustrating the effect of tooling costs on overall manufacturing economics.

Evaluating Multi Jet Fusion for UAV Manufacturing

Together, these use cases demonstrate the application of HP MJF to UAV component production across a range of platform sizes. Using the HP Jet Fusion 5600 series with HP 3D High Reusability PA 12 enabled by Evonik, the examples illustrate lightweight component production, isotropic mechanical performance, manufacturing scalability, and cost competitiveness for UAV applications.

Learn more about HP Multi Jet Fusion for UAV component manufacturing here.