Some of the world's fastest-changing technologies can be found at the forefront of military conflicts worldwide. Military forces need to remain at the forefront of technology to ensure combat readiness and security, but this also sets challenging standards for contractors to keep pace. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are perhaps the most striking example of hardware technology that requires near-continuous development and improvement to keep up with the ever-changing military landscape.
Boresight, an Australian drone manufacturer, differentiates itself in a highly competitive industry by delivering high-quality, reliable, and very low-cost target drones, as well as more technically advanced tactical drones, which are commissioned under the Australian Strategic Capability Accelerator (ASCA) program.
We spoke with Justin Olde, CEO of Boresight and former Army tank commander, to learn how the Fuse Series ecosystem and Formlabs' Australian partner, Thinglab, have helped Boresight scale its design and manufacturing processes to create new product lines in highly competitive markets.
“As we transition to more technically advanced drones, we want to maintain the scalability and flexibility of 3D printing, but we need to use more sophisticated materials. They have to be strong, engineering-grade, and that's what Fuse enables us to do.”
Justin Olde, CEO of Boresight
Disposable drones: an unforgettable experience.
As drones have become an integral part of every aspect of military operations, from surveillance and reconnaissance to communications systems and tactical missions, it has become essential to train military forces to be able to defend against drone threats as well as to utilize them effectively.
Boresight has differentiated itself by dominating the disposable drone market used for anti-aircraft training. The Australian Army needed a domestically produced solution to train its forces and required a solution that was affordable, reliable, and easy to deploy across various military units.
Traditional manufacturing, with its high tooling costs and long production times, would prevent Boresight from improving and delivering the technology as quickly as the military requires.
“We built the entire company on the capabilities of 3D printing. The flexibility and customization that 3D printing opens up for us. Our target drone was printed with FDM using PLA filament because we had to make it as low-cost as possible. It’s built to be destroyed,” Justin said. Because FDM 3D printing is so low-cost, Boresight was able to create a highly cost-effective manufacturing process while still delivering a reliable and easy-to-use product.
When Boresight was requested to expand from a target drone (right) to a mission-ready drone (left), they turned to SLS 3D printing for its practicality and streamlined manufacturing workflow.
When ASCA awarded a contract for a non-target drone that required greater durability and industrial-grade materials, Boresight was able to raise funds easily. Boresight's engineering team knew they could build high-quality drones at an affordable price, simply by using engineering-grade materials.
“We’re very good at manufacturing drones efficiently, and because of that, we’re very competitive in accelerator projects when they start looking for high-performance drones that are made in Australia and are cost-effective. That’s why we turned our attention to Fuse,” Justin said.
Proven workflows, new power.
Boresight's SLS-printed drones are more durable and industrial-grade than FDM-printed target drones.
SLS 3D printing enables the creation of complex parts with low tolerances, ensuring consistency in the assembly process.
As Boresight began evaluating options for designing and manufacturing more robust, high-performance drones, they sought a solution that maintained a low-cost, high-value operational model while offering materials strong, lightweight, and durable enough for use in all environments.
“The biggest advantage of SLS technology is that we get to use engineering-grade materials. We can make engineering decisions based on the thickness and characteristics of the part. Especially with PLA on an FDM machine, you can't get consistency, so you have to make it thicker and heavier. But with SLS, you can take that material and put it into engineering analysis software and determine how that characteristic should behave,” Justin said.
After evaluating other powder bed fusion printers, Boresight's engineering team wasn't convinced that traditional, large-scale industrial systems were the answer. The high initial costs wouldn't be covered by an ASCA contract, and achieving rapid ROI meant an immediate, massive increase in production capacity. They needed quality and reliability, without the nearly half-million-dollar price tag . "Value for money is a huge deal to us. The whole company is built on cost-effective solutions, and every dollar we spend has to be recouped in the future. The Fuse Series delivers that quality-to-price capability to us," said Justin.
Ecosystem enrichment and efficiency enhancement.
Adding Fuse Blast improves the production efficiency, throughput, and surface quality of Boresight's SLS parts.
Automated media blasting can reduce manual post-printing steps by up to 80%, but for some parts, adding just a few minutes of manual blasting can create parts that are virtually indistinguishable from injection-molded plastic.
As soon as the plant was operational, the Boresight team added the Fuse Blast cleaning and polishing system, as well as a second Fuse 1+ 30W printer . “At where we are now, with two printers running, we can print, then immediately blast, and get a much better finish than we could have done by hand. In terms of production capacity and efficiency, it’s been a huge benefit for us,” said Justin.
Boresight's production of high-performance drones on a Fuse.
Boresight follows the maintenance and cleaning schedule recommended by the Fuse Series to maintain consistent workpiece quality, even at production levels.
Regularly cleaning the optical cassette helps avoid common printing defects such as wavy patterns or pitted surfaces, and it only takes about 20 seconds.
The self-supporting printing design of the SLS print chamber gave Boresight's design team the flexibility to arrange components densely. They could stack parts for the chassis, arms, mounts, battery compartments, and camera housings all within a single print job. This high arrangement density also reduced the cost per unit, allowing them to maintain lean manufacturing practices. “Almost everything on our drones is printed with Fuse,” Justin said. The switch from FDM technology has given the design team more freedom to create parts that are lightweight yet strong and durable, even in harsh environments.
“This drone was designed for military organizations, which aren't known for handling equipment with care. They wanted something simple, lightweight, and robust—typically conflicting requirements, but with Fuse, we were able to achieve that.”
Justin Olde, CEO of Boresight
Flexibility that prepares you for the future.
In the drone industry, the only thing that remains constant is change. To ensure Boresight could keep up with the industry's rapid shifts, Justin chose to dedicate himself entirely to 3D printing. “The problem with traditional technologies like injection molding or vacuum molding is that they compromise your flexibility. With the type of work Boresight does, we need to be able to respond to requests for small changes at any time. 3D printing and the Fuse Series provide those options. We can change it constantly. All we have to do is wake up one morning, tweak the design, and then let the printer do the rest,” Justin said.
On-demand manufacturing with SLS allows Boresight to be agile and respond quickly to industry changes, from a military unit needing a different sized camera to a propeller supplier changing mounting points. Changes that could cost traditional manufacturers hundreds of thousands of dollars in obsolete tooling can be fixed in about 10 minutes before a new solution is printed for them. “We need to produce in really high volumes for injection molding to be rational. Tooling costs for parts like chassis can be around $100,000, and if the payload changes after a year, I’m not getting the ROI I’m looking for,” Justin said.
With lower barriers to startup compared to traditional manufacturing methods or large powder bed fusion machines, Fuse enables Boresight to scale production gradually. They can adapt production capacity to meet demand, leveraging their differentiating strengths: an intensive lean manufacturing model and expansion within the Fuse Series SLS ecosystem. This allows them to remain fully focused on 3D printing while simultaneously leveraging their capabilities for the production of robust, ready-to-use drones.
“Fuse technology empowers us to transform. As we develop and scale our production, we scale with Fuse.”
Justin Olde, CEO of Boresight
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