Carbon Fiber Drone Frame

CAD design and fabrication

Design a lightweight hexacopter frame in Fusion 360 to mount six motors, a flight controller, and landing gear, with every part interference-free and buildable.

The biggest challenge was catching geometry that looked correct in isolation but failed once the full assembly came together, including arm tubes that terminated in open air at the frame's center with nothing structurally tying them to each other, and landing gear struts that dead-ended against the bottom plate with no bracket actually capturing them.

The frame was built parametrically in Fusion 360, with two 150mm carbon fiber plates, six 16mm CF arm tubes on a 498mm motor spread, aluminum motor mounts and standoffs, and bolted landing gear. Early iterations left the arm tubes unsupported at the center and the landing gear only touching the frame rather than actually joining it. Both were resolved with a redesigned center hub that seats and bolts all six tubes together, and socketed tee joints that capture the landing gear struts instead of butting against them.