Fixed-wing 3D printing case study: how HP Multi Jet Fusion outperforms foam and carbon fibre for Category I drones.
Project details:
Service: HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)
Industry: Aerospace and defence
Client: HP Concept S demonstrator
The HP Concept S demonstrator is a Category I fixed-wing VTOL built to test what Multi Jet Fusion can do for drones with a wingspan under two metres and a maximum take-off weight under nine kilograms.
Combining standard carbon fibre profiles with MJF-printed components, Concept S achieves a 1.5 metre wingspan on a total airframe weight below 500 grams, prints in half a build area, and assembles mechanically in under 30 minutes.
The challenge
Foam is cheap but fragile; carbon fibre is strong but costly
The wings and fuselages of Category I fixed-wing UAVs are usually made from injected expanded polypropylene or machined foam. Foam strikes a practical balance between light weight and low material cost, which is why it is so common, but it brings real drawbacks: it often lacks the premium finish expected of higher-end platforms, it degrades under UV exposure, it restricts design flexibility, and assembly depends on labour-intensive gluing. Once a wingspan extends beyond 40 centimetres, reinforcement rods typically become necessary to preserve structural rigidity.
Carbon fibre answers the strength and endurance question using aerospace-grade materials, but that performance comes with constrained scalability and significant cost, particularly in labour and tooling, unless a manufacturer commits to substantial capital investment in equipment and infrastructure. Both approaches remain labour-intensive to assemble.
The solution
Foam-like weight with mechanical properties foam cannot reach
When fuselage and wing components are optimised for Multi Jet Fusion, it becomes possible to achieve structures as light as foam while dramatically improving mechanical strength and durability. Optimised process parameters and the HP Jet Fusion 5600 allow rigid yet lightweight structures that match or exceed the lightweight characteristics of foam, and applying Design for Additive Manufacturing principles enables consistent production of features down to 0.5 millimetres.
Concept S puts that into practice. The airframe combines standard carbon fibre profiles with MJF printed components that carry all safety factors and loads. Innovative clipping systems minimise the use of screws so mechanical assembly takes under 30 minutes, and the electrical wiring is integrated using a sacrificial printed feature. From prototype through to full-scale production the process simplifies assembly, shortens lead times and supports rapid iteration.
In numbers
0
printed units per year on a single HP Jet Fusion 5600 system0 min
for mechanical assembly, thanks to clipping systems that minimise screws0
iterations developed and tested within a three month periodThe aircraft
HP Concept S
Category I fixed-wing VTOL demonstrator
- Vertical take off and landing, 2.5 kg MTOW and a 1.5 metre wingspan
- Standard carbon fibre profiles combined with MJF printed components carrying all safety factors and loads
- The full drone prints in one half of a build area
- Electrical wiring integrated using a sacrificial printed feature
- Airframe under 500 grams total, with less than 180 grams in the wings
Project gallery
What a demonstrator proves for production
Concept S exists to show drone manufacturers what is achievable rather than to be sold. It demonstrates that additive manufacturing can carry structural loads on a fixed-wing platform at a weight foam cannot beat and a cost carbon fibre cannot match, and that three design iterations can be built and flown inside three months. Turning that into a production programme takes comprehensive aerospace engineering, design for manufacturing and specialised production expertise. That is the combination AMufacture brings to UK UAV manufacturers, alongside the MJF capacity to build at volume once a design is proven.
Download our whitepapers
In collaboration with HP, we’ve developed a series of papers that dive deep into MJF’s transformative drone-manufacturing capabilities.
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