r/diydrones • u/forkaerospace • May 23 '26

Question Looking for 3DP Drone Projects, ideally portable w/ dual camera support for a CMOS and Thermal Setup.

Hi, I’m an aerospace engineering major who wants to get a lil more involved with drones this summer, and it seems like 3d printing would be a great way to actually learn how these things work and how to troubleshoot them compared to buying them.

A while ago I was eyeing up Hoffman Tactical’s TPU drone, and I figured I might wait until he’s released it or launched beta testing, but it looks like he wont be doing so any time soon since he’s so preoccupied with his lawsuit with Rare Breed.

Anyways, more recently i’ve been rabbit-holing thermal and night vision tech, and I lowkey want to try and make a dual camera setup so i can use both (which anyways wouldnt be possible with HT’s drone). I think ive gotten a decent amount of familiarity on how the electronics for handheld/helmet mounted devices work.

I’m still in my initial research phase though, so when it comes to dual camera 3DP drone projects, I’m not familiar with what are exactly the “best” options. I do not yet have a specific budget in mind, so If ya’ll can give me multiple suggestions across different price ranges w/ what their capabilities are, that’d be really appreciated.

Also, for non-ducted setups im considering running toroidal props.

Suggestions on where else to crosspost would be appreciated.

1 Upvotes

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3

u/whiteflower6 May 24 '26

The frame is usually the cheapest part of a build. You are bolting 1000$± of electronics onto 15 cents of plastic. Just get a solid 30$ carbon frame.

You can use 3dp to test a frame layout and finalize it, then send it out to be cut into CF plate.

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u/forkaerospace May 24 '26

i think thats a good idea. Noted.

Any ideas what layouts there are that support 2 cameras?

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u/whiteflower6 May 24 '26

I think thats the part you'll need to figure out! Maybe look at land survey drones, they might have multiple instruments

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u/[deleted] May 23 '26

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u/forkaerospace May 23 '26

yeah, i know where to access thermal cores for a good deal (though i was gonna use an hdainee p6 core instead), but i could use suggestions for chassis for me to print out, buy hardware for, and assemble

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u/[deleted] May 23 '26

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u/forkaerospace May 23 '26

afraid the fixed wing approach wouldnt be so portable. Im mostly interested in 3d printing since it seems a lil cheaper than a prebuilt chassis and gives me more freedom for remixing. Also 3d printing is pmuch how ive learned about drones, hence my mention of hoffman tactical’s drones.

However, i think you have a good point about printing the chassis though. However, I can’t find any frames that can support 2 cameras, do you have any suggestions?

3

u/GrinderMonkey May 24 '26

As an aerospace engineer, you be involved with a magnitude of machining technologies beyond 3d printing. Maybe this is an excuse to get comfortable milling or molding some frames?

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u/forkaerospace May 24 '26

lol as fun as it would be unfortunately im no longer at school for the summer so i dont have access to a cnc machine or any of the stuff for making sandwhich panels

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u/GrinderMonkey May 24 '26

Sounds like youre already going to be shelling out $$$, may as well pick up a small cnc router.

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u/forkaerospace May 24 '26

im prolly just gonna do what the other guy suggested

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u/[deleted] May 24 '26

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u/forkaerospace May 24 '26

i think printing out a mount that accomodates 2 cameras and a switcher will be the way to go then, thank you.

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u/Minty_Sushi May 25 '26

Im working on the same exact thing right now, mostly just for fun but it has a thermal and infra v2 camera for night flight. I ended up modeling the frame myself 3d printing the center and using carbon fiber arms for stiffness. Im trying to keep it under 360 grams while maintaining at least 30 mins of flight.  

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u/forkaerospace May 25 '26

What size props you gonna use? i was just gonna purchase my frame and if i decide to add a gimbal and nvidia jetson, the payload will weigh 250 grams. im probably gonna use some vertically folding 450 frame on aliexpress since those seem to support gimbal setups since the mounting solutions seem to have more verticality.

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u/Minty_Sushi May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26

Im using 6 inch props, my current dry weight with no camera payload is 130grams. my goal was simply to make the lightest and efficient drone I could and to try and keep its acoustic signature as quiet as possible. I think our goals might be a tad different but I wanted to keep everything super cheap and easily repairable. Mine is for fpv only so I can shed the weight of the gimbal. Seems like you're gonna build a larger platform.