Additive Manufacturing to build UAVs for extreme weather conditions

Additive Manufacturing or 3D Printing materials originally developed for the motorsports industry by CRP Technology in Modena, Italy, and Mooresville, North Carolina, are being used to manufacture Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), commonly called drones.

Engineers at CRP Technology and Hexadrone, crafted a modular UAS using Laser Sintering technology and Windform composite materials. CRP Technology, CRP Group’s specialized company in advanced 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing solutions, developed the Windform family of high-performance composite materials.

Engineers implemented a rugged, waterproof design to construct Hexadrone’s first fully modular, easy-to-use UAS made for extreme weather conditions and industrial and multipurpose applications. Rapidly swappable arms and three quick release attachments make the Tundra-M extremely flexible to meet the needs of any profession, while making operational conditions easier to maintain, officials say.

Hexadrone officials asked CRP to devise the functional prototype of the Tundra-M, Hexadrone’s very first mass-produced drone: “We have engineered our drone by means of a cautious, multifaceted, and collaborative based approach with the involvement of broad-based stakeholders,” Hexadrone CEO Alexandre Labesse says. “In the course of two years of consulting, research, and development, we have gathered all the advice and customers’ testimonials useful to its design and which finally helped us in the process of devising an ideal UAV solution.”

Suitable for different flight scenarios and professional uses, the multifunctional Tundra-M boasts four quick-connect arms and three accessory connections. The body and other main parts are made of composite polyamide-based material. Carbon-filled Windform SP and Windform XT 2.0 materials are shaped into pieces using the Selective Laser Sintering 3D Printing Technology. The four arms supporting the body frame of the Tundra were 3D printed using Windform XT 2.0 composite material. The rest of the components were developed with the Windform SP composite material.

Understanding the limitations with traditional manufacturing technologies, the companies identified the opportunity to develop a unique UAS based on the use of Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies. Additive Manufacturing technologies in UAS applications has presented both opportunity and challenges to engineers in the field. The ability to produce parts and components using AM technologies hold promise in both metals and plastics, whereas traditional subtractive manufacturing technologies can be restrictive in design development and material selection.

Aleppo: SDF Shoot Down ISIL ISR-UAV

The SDF shot down an ISIL ISR-UAV equipped with imaging devices and bombs, flying over their positions near the town of Manbij in Northeastern Aleppo. The UAV was brought down after it was intercepted over positions of Manbij Military Council, affiliated to the Kurdish-led SDF.

US Army awards Aerovironment

The U.S. Army has awarded three firm fixed-price orders to AeroVironment, Inc. totaling $27,178,075 for RQ-11B Raven and RQ-20A Puma AE Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) spare parts.

The company received two orders on August 29, 2014 and one on September 18, 2014.  Delivery is anticipated within 12 months. “Recapitalizing the Army’s large fleet of Raven and Puma AE systems ensures that soldiers have the most effective and reliable small UAS available to support them, wherever and whenever required,” said Roy Minson, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment’s UAS business segment.  “With AeroVironment-original spare parts and upgrades, operators can continue to rely on our combat-proven solutions to deliver better information, on-demand, and help them operate more safely and effectively.” added.

The latest orders increase the total value of orders for Raven and Puma AE UAS spare parts and Raven upgrades received since May 2014 to $77.6 million.

ARDEC's Anti-UAV Weapons

As the military use of UAS (Unmanned Aircraft Systems) has increased dramatically, including by entities that may pose a threat to the United States, scientists at Picatinny Arsenal are part of the effort to counter potential threats to U.S. armed forces by such systems.

According to UAS vision in many cases, unmanned aircrafts are used to gather intelligence with cameras and sensors, thus there is a need for the U.S. Armed Forces to have counter measures in place. Since 2010, the U.S. Army Armaments Research, Development and Engineering Center, known as ARDEC, at Picatinny Arsenal, has been positioning itself as a player in the close-in counter UAS mission by participating in an annual experiment to assess the Department of Defense, inter-agency and private industry capabilities in Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems, or C-UAS.

In 2012, ARDEC partnered with the Navy’s Office of Strategic Systems Programs and successfully demonstrated the capabilities of fire-control radar to detect, track, and characterize UAVs. This information was then used to veer a remote weapon station gimbal at the threat UAS, emulating a potential defeat system. Given the success in being able to accurately detect and track unmanned systems, in fiscal year 2013, ARDEC directed its focus on integrating the fire control radar with a variety of current weapon systems that could potentially neutralize the UAV threat.

After a System of Systems analysis, the integrated C-UAS System of Systems included three different end-to-end “kill chain” capabilities. According to ARDEC Project Officer Hannibal People, ARDEC was proven to be successful with its effort in 2013, since the integrated System of Systems showed as a promising solution after defeating the UAS threat at two different test events. This ability marks the first time a small class UAS has been defeated by a prototype U.S. Army “gun launched” munition using a novel warhead design. The significance of this accomplishment is the potential to provide a single-shot, low-cost-per-kill weapon system that can function in a multi-role capability for both fixed and mobile Army platforms.

Pulse Aerospace Announces the wePilot3000

Pulse Aerospace, Inc., the Kansas based unmanned helicopter manufacturer and supplier of unmanned helicopter automatic flight control systems, announces today the release of the weControl wePilot3000 redundant, and full authority, digital flight control system for its North American customers.

The wePilot3000 is primarily aimed at the rapidly accelerating helicopter UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) industry, but also with the peripherals, controller architecture, and I/O to provide custom autopilot solutions for fixed wing UAVs. The wePilot3000, in contrast to its predecessor the wePilot1000, provides a redundant flight control system capability designed for helicopter UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) with a Maximum Take Off Weight (MTOW) of 20lbs (9 Kg) to 1100lbs (500 Kg).

(Read more)

Agreement between Aerovironment and Eurocopter

AeroVironment and Eurocopter have agreed to explore business opportunities for their respective products.

The cooperative accord was announced this week at the annual Association of the U.S. Army conference and exhibition in Washington and follows urging from industry and government in Europe for the development and manufacture of European Unmanned Aerial Systems.

"AeroVironment's extensive operational UAS experience in delivering to end-users reliable solutions working effectively in harsh operating environments makes us uniquely positioned to understand customers' requirements and to determine future market trends," said Clive Schley, Eurocopter's senior vice president, strategy and company development. "This cooperation will be particularly valuable as Eurocopter defines its unmanned product strategy, building on the success of our first unmanned flights with the EC145 helicopter this year."

"The combination of AeroVironment's market leading unmanned technology and unique knowledge with Eurocopter's world-class helicopter and systems expertise makes a formidable team," said Roy Minson, senior vice president and general manager of AeroVironment's Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment. "This cooperative agreement creates the opportunity for both companies to explore expanding into new markets and developing new capabilities to meet future customer needs."

The European focus on unmanned aerial systems is primarily in regard to large, medium-altitude, long-endurance aircraft such as the Grey Eagle and Predator by U.S. manufacturers. EADS, Eurocopter's parent company, is currently developing the Talon medium-altitude, long-endurance with Turkish Aerospace Industries. Another EADS subsidiary, Cassidian, makes small unmanned aircraft systems.

FAA: Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site Selection

On February 14, 2012, the President Barack Obama signed the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (FMRA) into law. The FMRA includes requirements for integrating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system (NAS), including direction for the FAA to “establish a program to integrate unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace system at six (6) test ranges.” (Read more)