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Feasibility Study for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D-Printed Propellers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Lorenz R. Toleos, Jr., Niño Jhim Andrew B. Dela Luna, Mark Christian E. Manuel, John Marvil R. Chua, Eldric Marius A. Sangalang, and Patrick C. So
School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, Mapúa University, Manila, Philippines

Abstract—Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology is being developed at a rapid pace, and its application can be seen on various fields and industry. One of the main challenges of UAVs is the limited energy, and majority of the power is consumed by the propulsion system. Thus, the efficiency and design of propellers is important to help increase the flight endurance. This study focuses on determining the feasibility of 3D-printed propellers for UAVs. The 3D printing technology utilized was the Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM), and the thermoplastic material used was a white Polylactic Acid (PLA). The propeller model that the researchers 3D-scanned is the APC Sport 9×6, which was fabricated at different 3D printer settings. The researchers developed a propeller testing apparatus and assessed the torque and thrust of the propellers using the said device. The impact strength of the propellers was also determined using a Charpy impact testing machine. Statistical treatments such as linear regression and T-test were utilized. The researchers found that FDM propellers have almost the same performance as the injection molded propeller at certain printer settings while other settings yielded an increase in torque. Since torque is directly proportional to the power consumption of the motor, it was determined that at certain printer settings, the FDM propellers consumes more power than injection molded propellers. Thus, the researchers were able to identify acceptable printer settings that can be used to 3D-print propellers. Also, the researchers found that the impact strength of FDM propellers is significantly lower than that of an injection molded propeller. With these findings, the researchers concluded that Fused Deposition Modelling can be used to verify the performance of new propeller designs before it goes into mass production, but because of the weaker mechanical strength, it is not optimal for actual use. 

Index Terms—unmanned aerial vehicles, propeller, 3D-printing, fused deposition modeling, performance analysis

Cite: Lorenz R. Toleos, Jr., Niño Jhim Andrew B. Dela Luna, Mark Christian E. Manuel, John Marvil R. Chua, Eldric Marius A. Sangalang, and Patrick C. So, "Feasibility Study for Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D-Printed Propellers for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles" International Journal of Mechanical Engineering and Robotics Research, Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 548-558, April 2020. DOI: 10.18178/ijmerr.9.4.548-558

Copyright © 2020 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided that the article is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.