The Architecture of a Modular UAV with Additively Manufactured Frame: Preliminary Flight and Performance Evaluations

This work explores an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) with a customizable configuration. Its architecture follows the application scenario, thus granting it fits the required performances. Tricopter, quadcopter, hexacopter, and octocopter are all the possible configurations this UAV can be adapted to. The customization is achieved with eight individual components; several setups arise when they are assembled in different ways and numbers. The core houses the standard avionics; those to be repeated find place in plug-and play arms. A further chance of customizability is given by the Fused Filament Fabrication (FFF), the additive manufacturing technology used to produce the structural parts of the frame. Finally, the paper proposes the performance simulation of four different scenarios, implementing non-custom avionics and highlighting how they modify from one setup to another. Flight time, payload capabilities, maximum speed, efficiency, and thrust-to-weight ratio are the key parameters guiding to fit the UAV to the mission profile.