Solidworks Project: Drone CAD modeling

For my Advanced Solidworks class, me and my partner Charles worked on disassembling a drone we bought only for around $60 and modeled the parts by measuring them with calipers and using those measurements to make a CAD part.

The focus of this class is to refine our skills and CAD modeling and introduce us to basic concepts of FEA using Solidworks Simulation. Most of the skills we learned in lecture and lab were integrated in our project, which was a fun challenge.

This project taught us what are the basic components in a drone from a mechanical perspective. Measuring each part forced us to focus on the details. For electrical devices, the mechanical enclosures are important as mechanical engineers consider the dimensions that will give optimal performance of the product, the material used for each part, and which methods to use to combine these parts together.

We also observed that the main electric components (circuit boards, camera, and power buttons) were placed carefully to prevent loss in quality. For example, if there is a mistake in the measurements that allows the camera to come loose due to the vibration from the propellers, then the drone will not pass quality inspection. In this post I walk through our project's presentation and the process involved in this 2-person project.

First off, me and my partner bought a cheap drone online for around $60. We started by taking it apart while making sure the screws are put away neatly so we don't lose parts. During this process we made sure that we are familiarizing ourselves every step of the way so we can re-assemble the drone.