Parrot
Parrot Bebop 2
The Bebop 2 in action
Advanced wireless technology provider, Parrot used professional 3D printing and Windform materials to produce their first ‘leisure drone’.
Parrot called on the help of CRP Technology, an Italian company in the automotive field with previous additive manufacturing experience, to construct the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The Bebop 2, built with Selective Laser Sintering technique and innovative Windform GT Additive Manufacturing material, combines superior aesthetic results in excellent resistance to impact and temperature changes.
The first Bebop 2 structure was built using injected parts with polyamide-based glass-reinforced composite material. Then, turning its attention to Selective Laser Sintering (SLS) technology, in collaboration with CRP Technology, the structure performance was optimised without developing long lead time and high cost injection tooling. It also accelerated iteration generation and reduced the manufacturing time.
Parrot
Parrot Bebop 2 pilot
The pilot can operate the drone with no prior-learning and can change the angle of the camera with a simple swipe of the finger
Windform GT was used to produce the main structure and all singles arms, bringing a robust and flexible body, and reinforced arms.
Parrot conducted an original development approach based on experimental diagnosis and FE model aimed at improving the quality of video during flight. The structure has been manly developed according to that aim and by finding smart design to reduce weight.
The parts made with Windform GT were found to be quite similar to those obtained by injection moulding techniques applied to glass fibre polyamide. Windform GT is also the only material for 3D printing technologies able to withstand accidental fall tests carried out by Parrot.
Powerful, with impressive stability and manoeuvrability even in extreme conditions, Bebop 2 offers easy-to-use piloting, which does not require learning. Data collected by the drone’s seven sensors can be analysed and easily merged thanks to the impressive calculation capability of its on-board computer.
Parrot
Parrot Bebop 2 body structure
The body structure was processed in less than 24 hours from receipt of the CAD-derived 3D file, to its final form.
Bebop 2 also boasts a front-facing camera specifically designed for the UAV. The pilot is also able to digitally change the angle of the camera by 180° by just sliding a finger on the screen of the piloting device. Digitally stabilized on 3-axis thanks to reliable algorithms, images are bright, perfectly stable and without distortion regardless of the drone movements.
Additive manufacturing and the use of Windform GT ensured a fast iteration process, the best ratio between structural strength and weight, an acceptable consistent result and opportunity to combine multiples functionalities from unique part, by CRP Technology’s reckoning. The body structure was processed in less than 24 hours from receipt of the CAD-derived 3D file, to its final form. Meanwhile, Parrot were pleased with CRP’s fast response time, good cooperation and output quality with unique proprietary process.
CRP Technology will be exhibiting the structural body of the Bebop 2 drone at next year's CES Event in Las Vegas.
