Unmanned systems

SLS parts for drones and UAVs

Lightweight airframe components, sensor mounts, enclosures and brackets for drone and UAV developers. Polymer laser sintering needs no tooling, so each design revision can go straight from CAD to the next round of testing.

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Conceptual illustration

Regulated flight applications

Parts intended for certified or regulated flight applications need qualification and approvals that go beyond manufacturing. Tell us the intended use in your request and we will be clear about what we can and cannot support.

Typical scope

  • Development and test airframe parts
  • Enclosures, mounts and payload interfaces
  • Fit-check fuselage and fairing sections
  • Ground equipment, jigs and fixtures

Requires separate qualification and approval

  • Parts for installation on certified aircraft
  • Flight-critical parts for production aircraft
  • Parts that require formal airworthiness approval

Typical parts

From airframe nodes to payload interfaces

Parts where low weight, integrated features and fast revisions matter more than a mold-ready design.

  1. Airframe nodes and arm joints

    Junctions between carbon tubes or plates, with sockets, ribs and cable passages built into one part.

  2. Motor and sensor mounts

    Mounts with integrated bolt patterns, cable exits and stiffening ribs, shaped to the motor or sensor footprint.

  3. Gimbal and camera brackets

    Stiff, lightweight brackets with seats for vibration dampers and clearance for connectors.

  4. Avionics enclosures

    Housings for flight controllers, ESCs and radios, with screw bosses, cooling paths and connector cut-outs.

  5. Antenna housings

    Non-metallic covers and mounts for antennas and GNSS modules, shaped around the airframe.

  6. Landing gear parts

    Skids, feet and leg fittings shaped for landing loads, with lattice or flexible sections where useful.

  7. Payload mounts

    Quick-change interfaces and adapters for cameras, sensors and mission payloads.

  8. Prototype fuselage sections

    Fuselage and fairing sections for fit checks and development testing, split to fit the build volume when needed.

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Why SLS

Why laser sintering suits UAV development

Selective laser sintering builds parts in a bed of powder that supports them as they grow. For drone programs, that removes several constraints at once.

  • No support structures

    Overhangs, closed sections and thin ribs are built without supports to remove, so no support marks are left on load-bearing faces.

  • Nesting for batches

    Arms, mounts and covers for several airframes can be nested in one build, including different part designs.

  • Internal channels

    Cable routes and cooling paths can run inside the part instead of being clipped on afterwards.

  • Lattice lightweighting

    Solid sections can be replaced with lattice or ribbed structures where stiffness allows, trimming grams across the airframe.

  • Part consolidation

    Brackets, spacers and clips that used to be separate parts can become one, with fewer fasteners to assemble.

  • Fast iterations without tooling

    A revised arm or mount is a new file, not a new mold. Design changes follow the test program instead of a tooling schedule.

Engineering considerations

What to plan for

SLS is a strong process with clear limits. We review these points with you before quoting, not after the parts arrive.

  1. Surface texture

    As-sintered parts have a fine, slightly grainy matte surface. Standard finishing is depowdering and bead blasting; dyeing, smoothing and coating belong to extended finishing.

    Extended finishing Planned

  2. Design rules

    Minimum wall thickness, hole sizes, clearances for moving parts and powder escape holes for hollow sections all affect the result.

    SLS design guidelines

  3. Part size

    Parts must fit the build envelope with margins. Larger fuselage or wing sections are split into segments, and the joint design is discussed in the review.

  4. Material choice

    PA 12 is the usual starting point for structural parts and housings. Temperature, UV exposure, fuel or chemical contact and impact loads are checked against the material datasheet.

    Compare materials

  5. Tolerances

    Achievable accuracy depends on geometry, size and build orientation. Critical dimensions are agreed in the engineering review; we do not quote generic tolerance values.

    Inspection reports Planned

Airworthiness and certification

Where airworthiness or certification requirements apply to your aircraft, meeting them remains the responsibility of your program. Tell us how the part will be used, and we will discuss in the engineering review what we can support on the manufacturing and documentation side.

Materials & platform

Materials for UAV parts

PA 12 is our primary material. Every material is shown with its current status.

  • PA 12

    Primary material Commissioning

    A balance of strength, toughness and low weight for airframe nodes, mounts and enclosures.

  • PA 11

    Planned

    Higher ductility and impact resistance for parts that see hard landings or repeated snap-fits.

  • PA 12 GB

    Planned

    Glass-bead-filled for higher stiffness and dimensional stability in camera and sensor brackets.

  • TPU

    Planned

    A flexible elastomer for dampers, bumpers and protective feet.

Specific powder grades are confirmed per project. Datasheets are shared on request, and we publish property values only once they are verified.

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Production platform

EOS P 770

Commissioning Installed and being commissioned. Requests are reviewed now; production slots are confirmed per project.

An industrial dual-laser polymer SLS system. Every status on this site comes from one registry and is kept current.

Build volume
700 × 380 × 580  mm
Lasers
2 × 70  W CO₂

Manufacturer specifications (EOS GmbH). Usable part size, material suitability and achievable tolerances require engineering review.

Services and their status

Engineering review
Available now
Design for additive manufacturing
Available now
SLS prototyping
Commissioning
Low-volume production
Commissioning
Standard finishing
Commissioning
Extended finishing
Planned
Inspection reports
Planned
All services and capabilities About the EOS P 770

How it works

From CAD file to finished part

Every request is quoted by an engineer, not by an algorithm. You get a clear answer on what can be built, how, and at what cost.

  1. CAD upload

    Send STEP, STL or 3MF files, or drawings, with quantity, material and application details through the secure form.

  2. Engineering review

    An engineer checks manufacturability, build orientation, material fit and any design changes worth considering.

  3. Quotation

    You receive a written quotation with price, lead time and the recommendations from the review. If the part is outside our scope, we tell you why.

  4. Production

    After your approval, parts are built, depowdered, finished as agreed and checked before dispatch.

Related sectors

All industries

  • Aerospace

    Non-flight-critical development parts: duct prototypes, aerodynamic models, cabin interior development parts, tooling and fixtures.

  • Robotics & automation

    End-of-arm tooling, gripper fingers, vacuum manifolds and sensor housings that keep moving mass low.

  • Automotive

    Functional prototypes, assembly and inspection fixtures, air ducts, brackets and low-volume interior parts.

  • Industrial technology

    Jigs and fixtures, machine guards, spare parts and custom housings, built to order without tooling.

Start a project

Planning the next airframe revision?

Send CAD files with quantities and target dates. An engineer reviews orientation, wall thickness and material fit before we quote, and your files stay confidential.

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