An Open-Source Community Wants to Fix Your Drone with 3D-Printed Parts

The rise of autonomous flying robots has piqued the interest of everyone down to US TV personality Martha Stewart, who told Tech Crunch she would like her life “run by drones.”

For those without deep pockets, however, getting in on the UAV fun isn't always easy—drones aren't cheap, nor are the parts. But a growing number of websites are trying to make drones more accessible by helping users build their own at a reasonable cost. Joshua Allen Johnson was inspired to start his own do-it-yourself drone universe after working as an assistant administrator to Chris Anderson, the former Wired editor who is now behind the well-known amateur drone-building site DIY Drones.

Johnson’s new venture CAD Drones addresses one problem in particular: It’s increasingly common for commercial drone companies to leave the sale of replacement parts up to third-party dealers. If you break a propeller on a DJI drone—a company which doesn’t sell replacement parts on its website—you have to go to a site like Helipal, where a set of two carbon propellers will cost you $21.90 plus shipping.

Johnson’s solution is to get it 3D printed instead. CAD Drones is an open-source community that connects customers with CAD designers and 3D printing companies to make bespoke parts for whichever bit of their drone they smashed into a wall. He said the same propeller would cost roughly five dollars in materials.

“If we nurture more competition within the hobby and commercial-grade drone market,” explained Johnson, “we will be able to successfully lower the costs of drones in this market tremendously.”

A 21-year-old CAD engineering student from Minneapolis, Johnson’s interest in home-built drones stems from his biggest childhood passions: tinkering with robotics and drones, and building websites. “So once I discovered DIY Drones around four years ago, it showed me that I can take and combine these hobbies of mine and find a career related to drones,” he said.

In the past he’s built websites, podcasts, and webisodes such as Drone Cafe and DIY Drones News, but CAD Drones has a unique attraction in that it’s an open-source community where people can share CAD files for drones and parts, as well as tips on designing drones with CAD software and 3D printing.

He said that the key goal in starting the CAD drones movement was to cut the costs of drone tech for the commercial sector by producing replacement parts and making them readily available online. There's also a lot of potential for modifications, from general upgrades to whatever specific add-ons drone owners want to design themselves.

The CAD Drones site is still pretty new, but Johnson explained the 3D printing services page was aimed at two types of people. “New companies and online retailers have a chance to build replacement parts for popular drone systems at lower costs than what is currently being offered on today's online retailers,” he said.

“Secondly, the 3D printing page is for those who know how to use CAD but don't own a 3D printer or have a 3D printer that can complete the print they need. In all, we are trying to work on this page to create a place in which new companies, retailers, and hobbyists can find a source for their 3D printing needs.”

Johnson has a roster of experts to call for help when it's needed, and for now the main challenge is getting the right parts to the right people. He's already got his sights on expansion, however. “Once CAD Drones takes off like DIY Drones did, I plan on hiring two admins and 10 moderators as paid positions,” he said. Watch out, Mr. Anderson.