Industry
Drones & UAV
Flight hardware where grams are mission time: thin-wall machining for UAV builders.
What slows this industry down
Drone engineering is a war on mass: every gram of structure is a gram of payload or flight time surrendered, so parts live at the edge of thin-wall manufacturability — 0.8 mm pocket walls and skeletonized motor mounts that many shops refuse or scrap. Vibration means fatigue-rated fillets and surface quality are airworthiness issues, not cosmetics. Design cycles are short and flight-test driven, so a vendor that takes two weeks to quote breaks the program cadence. Military-adjacent platforms add export-control screening that suppliers must understand before files ever move.
Typical parts we machine
- Motor mounts and prop adapters
- Gimbal frames and camera cages
- Folding-arm hinges and latches
- Battery trays and quick-release plates
- Antenna mounts and payload rails
Recommended materials
Aluminum 7075-T6
Aircraft-grade aluminum: steel-level strength at a third of the weight.
Aluminum 6061-T6
The default CNC aluminum: strong enough for most jobs, machines fast, anodizes well.
Titanium Grade 5 (Ti-6Al-4V)
Half the weight of steel at full strength, bio-inert, corrosion-proof — and priced accordingly.
Carbon Fiber Sheet
Stiffness nothing else matches per gram: profile-cut plates for frames, arms and optical platforms.
Recommended finishes
Anodizing Type II (Dyed)
Color that cannot peel: dye locked inside the part’s own oxide layer.
Hardcoat Anodizing Type III
Wear armor for aluminum: an oxide layer as hard as tool steel.
Bead Blasting
The uniform matte look: erases tool marks, hides fingerprints, preps perfect anodizing.
Certifications & standards
- ISO 9001
- We understand UAV programs expect ISO 9001-style traceability from raw stock to shipped part, even at prototype volumes.
- ITAR / EAR
- Military UAV hardware may fall under ITAR/EAR export control — you must declare any controlled status at RFQ so files and data are handled accordingly.
We understand and support these requirements; certification and documentation scope is confirmed per order.
Relevant services
CNC Milling
3- and 4-axis vertical machining for housings, brackets, manifolds and structural parts.
5-Axis Machining
Simultaneous 5-axis machining for impellers, freeform surfaces and compound-angle features.
Prototype Machining
Functional prototypes in production-grade materials, shipped in days with DFM feedback included.
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