Hexcel announced the successful first flight of a lightweight camera drone developed using Hexcel HexPly carbon fiber prepreg. This composite drone was developed using composite materials by a group of students at the Upper Austria University of Applied Sciences in Wels.
Reducing structural mass The team of six students in the university’s lightweight structure and composite materials course was responsible for the complete design, engineering, and manufacturing of the camera drone for 18 months. Compared with similar drones, the optimization of Hexcel materials and composite engineering enabled the team to reduce the composite structure mass by 42%, which is impressive.
Hexcel Neumarkt is one of the eight industrial partners supporting the university team throughout the project, providing all the carbon fiber prepregs used in the landing gear and fuselage of the drone. The ultra-light 32g landing gear was laid and cured in a press, while the fuselage was autoclaved by the student team using a combination of HexPly M901 and M78.1 prepreg resin systems with woven and unidirectional carbon fiber reinforced materials.
With the development of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) as a key emerging market and innovation space in the transportation field, the cooperation between Hexcel and the Upper Austrian University of Applied Sciences team has not only established an important connection with the next generation of lightweight composite engineers, but also highlighted The weight reduction and structural advantages of Hexcel composite material solutions.
The large-scale weight and consumption reduction of their updated camera drone version is an extraordinary achievement made by the student team. The relevant personnel said that this joint research not only illustrates the various complex and innovative aspects of the drone field. Composite materials technology also provides opportunities for further development of the broader urban air transportation (UAM) and aerospace composite materials market.
Hexcel congratulates the project team on their excellent lightweight composite design, and thanks them for demonstrating the contribution of Hexcel materials through demonstrations and drone flights.