The challenges of drones.

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been used for decades, primarily for surveillance and tactical missions for military organizations. However, widespread use of drones in industries such as agriculture, wildlife management, and climate science is constrained by their high cost. Each customer has their own specific requirements, which may include predicted air temperature and weather conditions, the type of camera or other payloads, or the distance between the fuel source and the target destination. While mass-produced parts are used in most drone models, these differing details inevitably lead to the need for some degree of customization.

The heaviest part of a drone is often the battery box, so Nextech uses 3D printing to optimize the weight of other components, allowing the drone to fly further without compromising strength or payload capacity.

Traditional manufacturing techniques make such customization difficult. Mold making, machining, or waterjet and laser cutting methods are expensive, especially for complex geometries as required. 3D printing has opened up opportunities for drone manufacturers to produce complex shapes and customized products at more affordable prices, but finding the right technologies and materials remains a limiting factor in its widespread adoption. The Fuse 1+ 30W's SLS workflow enables Nextech to rapidly prototype, enhance iterative refinements based on customer feedback, and mass-produce custom parts at a reasonable cost.

Implementing the SLS system within the organization.

Before adding the Fuse 1+ 30W SLS printer to their manufacturing capabilities, Nextech used to outsource 3D printing or machining of parts during the prototyping phase. “We had small parts 3D printed in batches on a large EOS industrial machine at a local university, but it took weeks to get the parts back,” Kroone said.

Bringing 3D printers into the organization accelerated development time, allowing the team to work more closely with customers. “You’re working on a custom project for a customer, so you need to quickly prototype, but with complex, detailed parts and good surface finishes,” Kroone said, adding, “We’ll add brackets and test the strength, feel, and weight, or add gaskets for better insulation and test the fit and functionality to ensure the final solution we deliver to the customer is of high quality.”

This kind of iterative cadence is virtually impossible when outsourcing manufacturing. Waiting days or weeks for each improvement brings you closer to deadlines and limits the amount of functional testing that can be done. “When you have your own in-house printers, you can really scale up production and optimize material usage. We can produce our plastic parts without using injection molds, which are very expensive and time-consuming,” Kroone said.


A custom-designed methane gas sensor was 3D printed using an SLS Fuse 1+ 30W printer with Nylon 12 powder. In-house production reduced design and manufacturing costs.	Similarly, this custom-designed battery charger is printed using a Fuse 1+ 30W printer with Nylon 12 powder through in-house manufacturing at Nextech, offering greater flexibility and faster response to customer design briefs.

Complex parts created using complementary technologies.

Customer-specific payloads, such as various types of cameras or sensors for agricultural, environmental, or wildlife surveys, require custom-designed mounts to attach them to the drone's frame. These mounts vary from project to project; sometimes the payload needs to be mounted further away from fuel sources, where heat buildup can occur over long flight distances, or it may need to be secured at a different angle.

In designing and manufacturing these mounting brackets, which required strength and durability, Nextech employed a combination of SLS 3D printing, composite materials, and machining. Their strength lies in applying these technologies to complement, not replace, each other.

"The combination of traditional machining and SLS 3D printing has resulted in what I see as the next era of manufacturing everything we do."

Liam Kroone, Mechanical Design Engineer at Nextech.

The Atlas T quadcopter model utilizes a combination of SLS 3D-printed parts (antenna blades, gimbal cover, and methane sensor), machined metal parts, and carbon fiber components to optimize the payload and enable the creation of specific geometry for maximum performance.

Melting measurement

One of Nextech's models is a fixed-wing drone with a wingspan of 3.2 meters and a range of 100 kilometers. For a joint project with the French government, this drone is being used to scan and survey deteriorating ice sheets in the Arctic. The drone is equipped with specially designed multispectral imaging and thermal imaging equipment to measure the impact of the ocean on the rate of ice sheet melting. The Nextech team had to design custom mounts and structural components to support the sensitive payload, as well as wingtips capable of operating in harsh environments.

“If the mass of the drone or the environment changes, the shape of the wingtips has to change accordingly. So, while we're prototyping and these variables are changing, machining it before we know exactly how it will work is very expensive,” Kroone said.

Ultimately, the wingtips would be made from carbon fiber composite, but creating molds for the composite is time-consuming and the machining is prohibitively expensive. Using Nylon 12 powder with the Fuse 1+ 30W machine allowed the team to experiment with complex shapes while maintaining a weight close to that of the final, actual carbon fiber part.

“If you’re trying to do it from aluminum or even carbon fiber, getting the mold right from the start of the project is quite complex. So being able to create these complex shapes with the Fuse 1+ 30W allows us to experiment with multiple versions, or as the project changes, we can print new designs with minimal effort,” Kroone said.


This rendering of Nextech's fixed-wing drone showcases the size and complexity of its design.	The Nextech team used a design process that combined carbon fiber molding with the Fuse 1+ 30W machine and Nylon 12 powder to rapidly iterate through and test the functional wingtips for their fixed-wing drone.

Production of 100 pieces at a time: Batch production of functional parts.

For the Atlas T, a multirotor drone, the team developed several versions for mounting the transmission technology at specific angles and distances. The mounting method affects performance, and accurate GPS alignment with the antenna improves transmission range and data quality. Long-range antenna tracking technology cannot be obstructed by conductive or bulky materials; therefore, customizing both the payload and antenna mounts requires complex shapes and extensive testing and refinement using non-conductive materials.

Kroone used the Fuse 1+ 30W printer to develop a smart, snap-in battery holder, with both external and internal components printed using Nylon 12 powder for real-world drone applications. The size of the internal components and the high production volume made efficient programming on their CNC machines challenging. “It’s a small part, and setting it up on a CNC machine would be time-consuming, but we can print 100 pieces at a time on the Fuse 1+ 30W,” Kroone stated.

A battery holder for practical use on the Atlas T quadcopter drone was printed using a Fuse 1+ 30W SLS 3D printer with Nylon 12 powder.

The results are comparable to equipment worth millions of dollars.

Combining SLS and CNC technology has given Nextech greater flexibility in its design and manufacturing processes. They can produce in batches and create complex shapes with the Fuse 1+ 30W machine, while simultaneously machining high-strength aluminum parts for other components. When evaluating SLS machines, it was crucial to find a machine that could deliver comparable quality to their CNC machines, and they found that in the Fuse 1+ 30W. “It’s truly fantastic technology. We’ve invested millions of dollars in CNC machines, and the production capacity [of the Fuse 1+ 30W] is comparable, but this machine costs $60,000,” Kroone said.

Each successful deployment of Nextech's drones increases market awareness and customer demand. Nextech needs to be able to consistently and smoothly rely on the Fuse 1+ 30W. “Repeatability and reliability are critical to ensuring we can produce high-quality drones within fast timeframes. Many SLS printers are known for numerous print errors and failures, while the Fuse 1+ 30W is a high-quality machine with excellent support,” said Kroone. The machine's reliability, combined with Formlabs' commitment to world-class support, ensures continuous production.

The drone industry is highly competitive, with companies vying for large contracts from government, research, and agricultural sectors. To maintain leadership, drone manufacturers need to constantly update their technology and offer customizable options for each project. 3D technology and in-house manufacturing capabilities with SLS and CNC machining are what set Nextech apart from the competition.

“I can tell you right now that any company that doesn't yet have this kind of equipment for batch production doesn't truly understand the direction of the future — they are limiting themselves by not having an in-house production workflow available when needed.”

Liam Kroone, Mechanical Design Engineer at Nextech.

Fuse Sift enables safe and efficient depowdering and recycling processes for materials.

By integrating traditional manufacturing technologies with advanced in-house additive manufacturing workflows, Nextech has become a leader in the drone industry. The reliability of Formlabs' Fuse series SLS printers allows them to remain agile, respond quickly to changing supplier and customer demands, and continuously improve their products.