things, too. For example, the removable
arms tted with an ef ciency motor can
be replaced with an arm that is tted
with a motor capable of producing much
more thrust when the user needs to
lift heavy payloads. Another is to use
longer retractable legs for more payload
clearance or just a large ‘ xed’ landing
gear. With Dark Matter, we have taken
modularity to the next level and you can
transform your Dark Matter hX drone
into a Dark Matter qD or vice versa by
assembling the aircraft in the desired
con guration.
ED: What similarities do drones share,
design wise, with other aviation craft?
PO: In my view, manned aviation
history is a great teacher and
there are lots of lessons to be
learned that are very relevant
to drones. It is very clear
to see the differences
between the Wright
brothers’ rst design
and a modern ghter
jet. More than 100 years of
design and manufacturing evolution – it
would be foolish not to look at this. I
regularly study aircraft designs, in case
I come across something that I can use
to improve drone designs. For example,
Dark Matter designs have been
aerodynamically optimised to maximise
ef ciency, which leads to better ight
ADDITIVE MANUFACTURING
‘Dark Matter’ designs have been
aerodynamically optimised to maximise
ef ciency, ensuring better ight
characteristics and longer ight times.
characteristics and longer ight times.
Multirotor drones are a fairly new type of
aircraft and I expect them to have a place,
without replacing existing aircraft. For
instance, a helicopter does not replace a
traditional xed-wing aircraft.
ED: How do you decide on the materials
to be used when designing your ‘Dark
Matter’ drones?
PO: I have always been very interested in
carbon composites, given its properties.
Using carbon bre was an obvious choice
for us, as it gives us full control over the
strength and weight of the components
we produce in-house. We can basically
make our carbon parts as strong, or as
light, as we need and control where the
strength is within a component. This is
where in-house capabilities really work
well together and we can take advantage
of that. We design
something and use our
high-precision CNC
to machine our own moulds and then
make our own carbon parts. Sometimes
we do this within a day and have the
carbon part in our hands the next
morning. We also use the CNC to machine
metal parts, using certi ed raw materials.
This can be aircraft-grade aluminium,
stainless steel or titanium. We also use
our 3D printers to produce resin parts
where we cannot use carbon or metal.
The choice of materials is always made at
the very early stages of the design, so we
can optimise things early on.
ED: What advances has drone design
seen in recent years?
PO: In terms of drone chassis design,
there are advances, but I still see a lot
of drone manufacturers taking the easy
route. In terms of electronics, sensors
and software things move forwards all
Manned aviation history
is a great teacher and
there are lots of lessons
to be learned that are very
relevant to drones.
www.ied.org.uk 19
/www.ied.org.uk