Strong, Customized Components for Drone Design, Manufacturing, and Piloting

3D Printing Solutions for Drone Manufacturing

Create strong, lightweight 3D printed drone frames with unlimited design freedom
Accelerate time to market for low-volume drone production
Enable in-field drone repairs with accessible, affordable 3D printers

Build an SLS 3D Printed Drone

Nylon 12 Tough Powder for rugged, weatherproof parts
TPU Powder (variable hardness) for vibration-dampening and cushioning components
Self-supporting print bed enables generative design for lightweight frames without sacrificing strength
Print multiple full drones in each build by nesting and stacking parts in the SLS system

SLA and SLS Parts: Land, Sea, and Sky

Skydio 3D printed drones
Case Study: Skydio

Functional Drone Testing to Keep Up With Market-Leading Software

a drone sls 3d printed by Boresight, an australian military contractor, against a blue sky
Case Study: Boresight Military Drones

How SLS Won a Contract With the Australian Armed Forces

ORQA sls 3d printed drones
Case Study: ORQA Expands Beyond FPV

Thousands of Drone Parts: Faster With SLS

nextech fixed wing drone
Case Study: Nextech

Fixed Wing and Quad-Copter Drone Innovation

Webinar: From FPV to Field Ops: How ORQA, Vector & Strongpoint Leverage 3D Printing

The changing regulatory landscape and how manufacturers can adapt to uncertainty
How global sourcing challenges can prompt creative design and fabrication solutions
How 3D printing can be used to reduce costs and improve manufacturing agility
How 3D printed injection molds can mitigate the lead times of traditional tooling
How SLS 3D printing fits into end-use production of drone components

Think Beyond Aluminum and Cut Carbon Fiber

Formlabs SLS powders and SLA resins are strong, functional, and customizable for your needs.

nylon 12 tough sls 3d printed part
Drone Arm and Base
Nylon 12 Tough Powder
Durable, lightweight nylon
High dimensional accuracy and repeatability
Impact and warp resistant
High ductility for snaps, ratchets, and hinges
3D Printed Drone Battery Charger
Drone Battery Charger
Nylon 11 CF Powder
Carbon fiber-filled nylon composite
Superior stiffness with optimal strength
Lightweight rigidity
Thermally stable and can withstand repeated impact
drone landing page sls 3d printed gps mount tpu 90a close up
GPS Mount
TPU 90A Powder
Variable softness (with Print Settings Editor)
Vibration dampening mounts, spacers, and gaskets
High elongation at break
Superior tear strength
SLA 3D printed generative design of a drone frame, printed in white resin
Generative Drone Frame Prototype
Versatile SLA Resins
40+ Purpose-built materials
Fast, affordable prototyping
Superior minimum feature size and detail
In-house injection mold tooling and more

SLS and SLA Parts for Lightweight, Tactical Designs

Large-format SLA and benchtop SLS make the full design-to-production workflow possible in-house.
Freedom of design with a self-supporting SLS print bed means less reliance on 5-axis milling.
Nylon 12 Powder provides impact-resistance for custom projects without sacrificing accuracy or geometric flexibility.

See Also

Nakai 3D printed underwater drone parts
Case Study: Nakai Robotics

How Nakai Prints End-Use Parts for Underwater Operations

SLS 3D Printed End-Use underwater drone parts
Case Study: SoSub

From Underwater Drone Idea to Testing In Six Weeks

Night vision camera mounted on the exterior of a vehicle.
Case Study: Night Vision Imaging Mount

How XSPECTER Combines SLA and SLS 3D Printed End-Use Parts To Manufacture Its Outdoor Camera Tripod

sls 3d printed drone
Case Study: ION Mobility

Switching to 80% SLS for End-Use Drone Manufacturing

Holler FPV
Nylon 12 Tough Powder
Durable, lightweight nylon
High dimensional accuracy and repeatability
Impact and warp resistant
High ductility for snaps, ratchets, and hinges
Luke Maximo Bell
Clear Resin for Heat-Sinks
Watertight Clear Resin enclosure
Clear Resin water pumps for liquid movement and further cooling
Silicone 40A Resin plugs
CNC aluminum heat-sinks
Christian Ojala
Race-Day Performance
Responsive, agile frame for sharp turns
Flexibility and strength for impact-resistance
Clear camera feed and strong radio connection
TPU parts dampen vibrations for smooth feeds and flight
Generative Design
Freedom of Design for Lightweight Strength
Generative design for advanced geometry
Optimized strength without bulk
Easy support removal for organic shapes
Fast, accessible printing

Save Money and Time

Your printer pays for itself in a matter of weeks or months, accelerating the pace of work along the way.

In-House 3D PrintingOutsourcing
Time30 hours7-10 days
Cost$50$400

Curious to see how much you can save? Try our interactive ROI tool to calculate cost per part and lead time when 3D printing on Formlabs 3D printers.

3D printed intake manifold for a 3-cylinder engine
Intake Manifold

13.1 x 13.7 x 28.7 cm

5.1 x 5.4 x 11.3 in

A Full Suite of 3D Printing Solutions for Aerospace

MAXIMUM VERSATILITY

Form 4

Produce functional, high-quality prototypes and end-use parts in record time.

Small to mid-size prototypes
Molds and dies
Connectors and brackets
QA and go/no-go gauges

Form 4L for Engineering
THINK BIG

Form 4L

Take control of large-scale part production, increase your throughput, and bring your biggest ideas to life.

Mid-size to large prototypes
Molds and dies
Assembly jigs
Toolholding and fixtures

Fuse 1+ 30W for Engineering
HIGHEST PERFORMANCE

Fuse 1+ 30W

Bring production-ready nylon 3D printing onto your benchtop with an affordable, compact selective laser sintering (SLS) platform.

Functional prototypes
End use parts: enclosures, connectors, manifolds
Long-lasting, durable jigs and fixtures

Open Material Mode

Formlabs is Open

Maximize your 3D printer’s potential with Formlabs Developer Platform. Unlock the possibility of printing with any 405 nm photopolymer resin or 1064 nm powder on Formlabs 3D printers, customize your print settings, or build software integrations.

Formlabs 3D Printers

Upgrade Your Prototyping and Production With Additive Manufacturing Today

Explore our 3D printers to find the right solution for your business or contact the Formlabs Aerospace Team today.