Design and Stress Analysis of Quadcopter Frame

Abstract

Quadcopter is a type of Unmanned Arial Vehicle(UAV) used across the world in the field of defence , agriculture , surveillance and logistics. The stress analysis is necessary for payload efficieny, flight stability and structureal integrity of the frame. This study presents the design and stress analysis of quadcopter frame for structural reliability under dynamic loading conditions. A 3D CAD model of the frame was developed in Autodesk Inventor Professional 2024 followed by Finite Element Analysis (FEA)(Stress Analysis)to evaluate the distribution of stress , strain and displacement(deformation).Although there are various factors affecting the overall performance of the Quadcopter our work is limited to designing ,modelling and evaluating of the frame analysis.

Introduction

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, are rapidly advancing in the aviation industry, making the design of strong and lightweight quadcopter frames essential for efficient performance. The frame must have a high strength-to-weight ratio, durability, and resistance to dynamic loads to ensure stability and longer flight time. Traditional materials like metal, wood, and plastic were heavy, but modern composite materials such as fiber-reinforced polymers offer better performance.

The study focuses on designing and analyzing a quadcopter frame using CAD and Finite Element Analysis (FEA), which allows testing under different load conditions without building physical prototypes, reducing cost and time. The frame must support key components like motors, battery, and controller while protecting them during flight.

The design process includes modeling the frame parts (base, head, arms), assembling them, assigning materials, applying loads, and performing simulation analysis. A force of 15 N is applied to evaluate structural behavior.

Results show that composite materials perform better than aluminum, producing lower stress and strain, making them more suitable for quadcopter frame construction.

Overall, the study demonstrates that using lightweight composite materials and simulation tools leads to stronger, more efficient, and cost-effective drone frame designs.

Conclusion

The above design and analysis of the frame in Autodesk Inventor Professional lead to the following conclusion: The total stress analysis was done in Autodesk Invent0r Professional which concluded that the frame designed lie within the safest limit. The frame can withstand more electronic component apart without affecting the drone structure. As the analysis suggest that the composite fibre is more reliable for futher project ,therefore it was chosen as the material for manufacturing the frame.

References

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Copyright

Copyright © 2026 Aditya D. Bhongale, Vishwajit D. Jankar, Arya A. Jambhulkar, Prof. Parag V. Bute. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.