Breznik's Biodegradable Drone Frame Is an Eco-Friendly Way to Build Your Own Quadcopter
PLA and linen mixture is designed to provide an alternative to petroleum-based materials or energy-hungry glass fiber frames.
Slovenian materials specialist Breznik Natural Fiber Composites has begun selling a drone frame kit with a difference: it's environmentally friendly and fully biodegradable.
"[These] drone frame components are made with an innovative process that enables production of environmentally friendly composite material from natural fibers and PLA," the company writes of its creation. "[The] drone frame is one of the first attempts at providing an alternative for petroleum based composites (epoxy, carbon fiber) and other energy consuming reinforcements like glass fiber."
The frame is designed with a quadcopter layout in mind, featuring a 650mm diagonal wheel base, mounts suitable for 2205, 2212, 2206, or 5010 motors, and an assembled weight of 350g including mounting hardware. Only selected parts are biodegradable, however. The bulk of the body is made of the natural fiber composite which mixes PLA and linen, but the connecting parts are 3D-printed in a more traditional material.
"[The] joints between composite bars and 3D-printed components (that do not have predrilled holes) should be glued (super glue, minute epoxy or more environmentally friendly alternatives). We are still working on a reliable bio-degradable suggestion/solution for gluing components," the company admits.
Breznik Natural Fiber Composites isn't the first company to consider what should happen to drone frames after they're no longer flightworthy: Earlier this year we wrote of a team of researchers in Malaysia who were turning waste products from the pineapple industry into drones that were lighter, cheaper, and stronger than off-the-shelf equivalents — and which biodegrade just two weeks after being buried.
Breznik Natural Fiber Composites' drone frame kit is available on Tindie for $44 for just the biodegradable parts or $68 including the 3D-printed connecting parts and stainless steel fixings. For those buying just the biodegradable parts, files for 3D printing the connections can be found on Thingiverse under a Creative Commons - Attribution license.
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