Aerospace 3D printing case study: how HP Multi Jet Fusion put over 90% of a surveillance VTOL into additive production.
Project details:
Service: HP Multi Jet Fusion (MJF)
Industry: Aerospace and defence
Client: The Eye Above
The Eye Above built the BushRanger, a rugged fixed-wing VTOL surveillance drone, around HP Multi Jet Fusion rather than adapting a conventional airframe to it.
Designing for MJF from the outset allowed more than 90% of the structure to be 3D printed, producing an aircraft light enough to extend flight duration, modular enough to be repaired in the field, and durable enough for conservation missions in some of the world’s harshest conditions. Data courtesy of The Eye Above.
The challenge
Endurance and repairability, in places with no supply chain
Surveillance drones earn their value by staying airborne, and every gram of airframe is a gram not spent on payload or battery. Conventional approaches force a compromise. Injected or machined foam is light and cheap but lacks durability under UV exposure, restricts design flexibility and needs labour-intensive gluing, with reinforcement rods becoming necessary once wingspans pass 40 centimetres. Carbon fibre delivers the strength but brings significant cost in labour and tooling, and constrains how quickly a design can change.
For conservation missions the problem compounds. Aircraft operate far from any supply chain, so a damaged component cannot wait weeks for a replacement to be tooled and shipped. The airframe has to be light, strong and repairable in the field, and it has to be manufacturable at a volume that makes the programme viable.
The solution
An airframe designed for MJF from the first sketch
Because HP Multi Jet Fusion needs no support structures, the BushRanger could be designed for the process rather than around it. Internal channels, part consolidation and precise optimisation for weight and aerodynamics were available from the outset, and precision process control allows ultra-thin walls down to 0.5 mm. The result is an extremely lightweight airframe that maximises payload capacity and extends flight range.
Over 90% of the structure is now 3D printed. The airframe is modular, so damaged sections are replaced rather than the whole aircraft, and parts can be repaired in the field. Because the same system and material carry a component from first prototype to final production part, there is no change of process, no change in material performance, and no tooling to re-cut when the design moves on.
In numbers
0.0 mm
minimum wall thickness achievable with precision process controlModular
airframe with parts that can be repaired in the field
Support-free
printing, unlocking true design freedom
The aircraft
The Eye Above
BushRanger fixed-wing VTOL
- Vertical take off and landing surveillance drone for conservation missions
- Built for the world’s toughest environments
- Over 90% of its structure 3D printed using HP Multi Jet Fusion
- Modular airframe with sleek aerodynamics and field-repairable parts
- Extended flight duration thanks to its ultra-lightweight design
Project gallery
Designing for additive from the outset
The BushRanger shows what becomes possible when additive manufacturing is a design decision rather than a substitution. Parts consolidate, supports disappear, walls thin, and the weight saved goes straight back into range and payload. AMufacture works with UAV manufacturers at exactly this stage, bringing design for additive manufacturing support, the UK’s most advanced MJF fleet and an integrated digital workflow, so that a design optimised on screen can be produced consistently and at volume.
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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