Prototype parts for robotics and drones
Brackets, chassis, grippers and housings 3D printed for robotics, drones and automation. Which material takes which load, and where plastic stops.
In robotics, the printed part wins where the geometry is odd and the quantity is one. The bracket holding your camera at that exact angle, on that exact extrusion, is in nobody’s catalogue. Printing it costs a few euros and arrives tomorrow; machining it costs a hundred and arrives next week.
Orientation matters more than material
A printed part is strong within the layer plane and weak between layers. An L-bracket printed upright snaps at the corner on the first knock; the same bracket laid flat takes several times more. Before printing we look at how your part is loaded and orient it accordingly — and if the load runs straight against the layers, we tell you.
Which material for which part
- Carbon fibre PLA — brackets and frames. Very stiff and light, barely warps. What we would use for a drone arm.
- PETG — parts that take knocks or live outdoors. Less stiff than CF, but it bends instead of snapping.
- TPU — anything that must absorb vibration: feet, stops, bumpers, propeller guards.
- ABS — near motors or power electronics, where PLA would already have softened.
Short runs for your own machine
If the design is validated and you need twenty of the same bracket to kit out a line, that is exactly the range where printing pays: no tooling, no thousand-piece minimum, automatic volume discount from three units. Upload the file and the configurator prices all twenty instantly.
Can you print a drone frame or chassis?
For small, gently flown, indoor or bench-test drones, yes. For anything fast or flying over people, the centre plate and arms should be laminated carbon fibre: continuous fibre is what gives the strength, and short-fibre filament is not the same material despite the name.
What material for a sensor or camera mount?
PETG if the mount could take a knock, and carbon fibre PLA where what matters is that it does not vibrate and holds its alignment. If it will sit in the sun — a drone waiting on the ground in summer passes 55 °C — never plain PLA.
Do printed parts survive motor vibration?
Yes, and often better than a bought rigid part, because you can combine: the structure in a stiff material and a TPU isolator or damper exactly where it is needed. Isolating a camera from the motor with TPU is one of the applications where the difference shows most.
Where it works well
- Sensor, camera and LIDAR mounts with exactly the geometry you need
- Drone frames and arms, where every gram counts
- Custom grippers and end effectors for one specific object
- Gearbox housings and servo covers
- Bump stops, feet and dampers in flexible TPU
- Assembly jigs for your own line
Where it stops
- Gears transmitting real torque. A printed gear works in a mock-up; under load in a reducer it eats its own teeth.
- Structural parts under constant load. Plastic creeps, and months later the part has sagged.
- Anything sitting against a hot motor, if it is PLA. Use PETG or ABS there.
- Replacing a machined aluminium part on a precision axis.
Recommended materials
Related guides
Got the file for your part?
Upload it to the configurator for an exact price in seconds. If you do not have one yet, we can design it.