3D printing drone supports fire department in operations

As an interdisciplinary research institute, Empa sets standards in the field of sustainable and resilient solutions. Its mission statement turns away from a throwaway society and towards a circular economy - to secure a sustainable future for our world. The Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics department focuses on the development of flying robot platforms.

Drone technology on fire

David Häusermann is a development engineer in Empa's Laboratory of Sustainability Robotics. © Sintratec

"Every day, firefighters put their lives in danger on operations in mostly unknown terrain," says David Häusermann. To this end, the development engineer and his team spent around six months developing, constructing and testing a fire drone. As reconnaissance equipment, the drone is designed to provide a picture of the danger zone from a safe distance using an infrared sensor and a conventional RGB camera. This minimizes risk and increases efficiency during operations.

Conventional drones are not suitable for use at extreme heat sources, as the installed components can melt or even burn very quickly. "For our prototype of the fire drone, we had to look for special materials that could withstand high temperatures of up to 200°C," emphasizes David. In cooperation with materials scientists at Empa, a polyimide aerogel heat shield was developed to protect the drone's internal electronics.

Too hot for FDM 3D printing

Additive manufacturing processes such as FDM (fused deposition modeling) were also used during the development phase, as they offer a great deal of design freedom. However, the FDM components had to be replaced with laser-sintered PA12 elements at a later stage of development, as these offer greater precision, material quality and temperature resistance. Compared to the FDM process, SLS technology offers the further advantage of being able to completely dispense with support structures during printing.

SLS parts prove themselves in field tests

The 3D printed parts sponsored by Sintratec were used for the mounting frames of the aerogel heat shield, fastenings for electronic components, rotor arm clamps and the gearbox housing, among other things. "The parts that Sintratec provided us with fulfill all of our project requirements and react as expected when tested under real conditions," explains David enthusiastically. For the engineer, one thing is clear: "SLS technology and the outstanding material properties are perfect for building drones - I will also be using this technology in future projects."