UAV MFG guidesGuides for engineers specifying machined parts for unmanned aircraft.https://uavmfg.com/Edge breaks and deburring on drone parts: what to write on the drawinghttps://uavmfg.com/blog/deburring-edge-breaks-drone-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/deburring-edge-breaks-drone-parts/How to specify edge breaks and deburring on machined drone parts: break sizes, cross hole burrs, thread entries and why a vague sharp edge note costs money.Fri, 23 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTCopper busbars and brass contacts on a drone: sizing, plating and jointshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/copper-busbar-brass-contacts-uav-power/https://uavmfg.com/blog/copper-busbar-brass-contacts-uav-power/Machining copper busbars and brass contacts for UAV power systems: conductivity, current per square millimetre, plating, bolted joints and aluminium contact.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTPlate or extrusion for a drone frame part: which stock saves money and weighthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/aluminium-plate-vs-extrusion-drone-frame/https://uavmfg.com/blog/aluminium-plate-vs-extrusion-drone-frame/Plate against extruded profile for drone frame parts: 6061 and 6063 strength, tolerance, die cost, waste, grain direction and anodising, with a decision table.Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT2024 aluminium for UAV fittings: fatigue strength against corrosion riskhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/2024-aluminium-uav-fittings/https://uavmfg.com/blog/2024-aluminium-uav-fittings/When 2024 aluminium suits a UAV fitting: yield strength, fatigue and crack growth against 6061 and 7075, plus corrosion, carbon contact, anodising and stock.Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT17-4 PH stainless on a UAV: small load-bearing parts where it earns its weighthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/17-4-ph-stainless-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/17-4-ph-stainless-uav-parts/When 17-4 PH stainless suits a small UAV part: heat treat conditions H900 to H1150, yield strength, distortion after ageing, machining order and corrosion care.Wed, 07 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTUAV component machining: what to put on the drawinghttps://uavmfg.com/blog/uav-component-machining-guide/https://uavmfg.com/blog/uav-component-machining-guide/A practical guide to specifying machined UAV parts: which features to tolerance, which material to pick, what finish to call out and what a quote should contain.Mon, 21 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTTitanium Grade 5 on a UAV: the parts where it is worth the moneyhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/titanium-gr5-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/titanium-gr5-uav-parts/When titanium Grade 5 beats 7075 aluminium on an unmanned aircraft: load, heat, galvanic contact with carbon fibre, cost per gram saved and machining reality.Sun, 20 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhy your aluminium fittings corrode where they touch carbon fibrehttps://uavmfg.com/blog/aluminium-carbon-fibre-galvanic-corrosion-uav/https://uavmfg.com/blog/aluminium-carbon-fibre-galvanic-corrosion-uav/Carbon fibre against aluminium is a galvanic cell. What that does to a drone frame, how quickly, and the five fixes that work on a machined fitting.Thu, 17 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMT6061 or 7075 for drone frame parts, and where each one belongshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/6061-vs-7075-drone-frame-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/6061-vs-7075-drone-frame-parts/The real differences between 6061-T6 and 7075-T6 on a UAV: strength, weight, corrosion, weldability, anodising and cost, with a part by part recommendation.Mon, 14 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTAnodising drone parts, and the dimensions it quietly changeshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/anodising-uav-parts-type-ii-vs-type-iii/https://uavmfg.com/blog/anodising-uav-parts-type-ii-vs-type-iii/Type II against type III anodise on machined UAV parts: thickness, hardness, weight, colour, masking, and how much a hard anodised bore actually grows.Sun, 13 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTEngineering plastics on an unmanned aircraft, and where each one belongshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/peek-pom-plastics-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/peek-pom-plastics-uav-parts/PEEK, POM, PA66 and PTFE on machined UAV parts: temperature, stiffness, moisture, insulation and what each one costs to cut compared with aluminium.Thu, 10 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTTaking weight out of a machined drone part without losing the parthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/design-machined-drone-parts-for-weight/https://uavmfg.com/blog/design-machined-drone-parts-for-weight/Wall thickness, pocket geometry, corner radii and fastener bosses on machined UAV parts, and the limits that decide how much weight you can really remove.Mon, 07 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTSpray rigs eat aluminium, so which parts should be stainlesshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/stainless-vs-aluminium-agricultural-drone-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/stainless-vs-aluminium-agricultural-drone-parts/Fertiliser and pesticide attack aluminium fast. Which agricultural drone parts justify stainless steel, which need a coating, and what the weight costs you.Sun, 06 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTMotor mounts: the four dimensions that decide whether it flies straighthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/motor-mount-machining-tolerances/https://uavmfg.com/blog/motor-mount-machining-tolerances/Bolt circle position, face flatness, shaft clearance and stack height on machined drone motor mounts, with the tolerances that matter and the ones that do not.Thu, 03 Sep 2026 00:00:00 GMTGimbal brackets: keeping two axes square when the part is mostly airhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/gimbal-bracket-5-axis-machining/https://uavmfg.com/blog/gimbal-bracket-5-axis-machining/Bearing seats, motor faces and squareness on machined UAV gimbal brackets, why 5 axis in one setup matters, and the tolerances a stabilised camera needs.Sun, 30 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhy your boom clamp slips, crushes, or will not come offhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/boom-clamp-fit-carbon-tube/https://uavmfg.com/blog/boom-clamp-fit-carbon-tube/Carbon tubes run undersize and out of round. How to dimension a machined boom clamp so it grips without crushing, and what bore to ask for on the drawing.Thu, 27 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTThreads in thin aluminium: when to cut them and when to use an inserthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/threaded-inserts-thin-uav-plates/https://uavmfg.com/blog/threaded-inserts-thin-uav-plates/Thread engagement, boss design and insert options for machined UAV plates, so a field serviced drone does not strip an M3 hole on its fourth assembly.Sun, 23 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTMachining the parts that isolate a payload from the airframehttps://uavmfg.com/blog/vibration-damping-mount-machined-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/vibration-damping-mount-machined-parts/Isolator seats, mass ratios, flat bonded faces and the machining details that decide whether a UAV damping mount actually keeps motor vibration out of a sensor.Thu, 20 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTMachining a drone enclosure that actually keeps water outhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/sealed-uav-enclosure-ip-rating-o-ring/https://uavmfg.com/blog/sealed-uav-enclosure-ip-rating-o-ring/O-ring groove dimensions, squeeze, surface finish and venting on machined UAV enclosures, and why most IP rating failures are groove problems not seal problems.Sun, 16 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTGetting heat out of an ESC or a payload without adding weighthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/heat-sink-cold-plate-uav-electronics/https://uavmfg.com/blog/heat-sink-cold-plate-uav-electronics/Machined heat sinks and cold plates for drone electronics: fin geometry, flatness under a chip, interface material, and why 6061 beats 7075 for thermal parts.Thu, 13 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTLanding gear: designing the part you want to fail firsthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/landing-gear-parts-impact-loads/https://uavmfg.com/blog/landing-gear-parts-impact-loads/Leg clamps, feet, hinges and the load path on machined UAV landing gear, including why a sacrificial part is better engineering than a stronger airframe.Sun, 09 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhat a first article report should tell you before the lot runshttps://uavmfg.com/blog/first-article-inspection-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/first-article-inspection-uav-parts/How first article inspection works on machined drone parts, what belongs in the report, when to ask for a new one, and how to read one without a metrology team.Thu, 06 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTReading a CMM report without a metrology backgroundhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/cmm-report-machined-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/cmm-report-machined-parts/Datums, true position, profile and form on a CMM report for machined UAV parts, what the numbers mean and which ones tell you a process is drifting.Sun, 02 Aug 2026 00:00:00 GMTSurface finish call outs that change the part, and ones that just cost moneyhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/surface-finish-ra-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/surface-finish-ra-uav-parts/What Ra means on a machined drone part, which surfaces need a finish call out, what each value costs and why a polished part is rarely the right answer.Thu, 30 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe paperwork commercial drone buyers ask for about where a part came fromhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/country-of-origin-documents-drone-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/country-of-origin-documents-drone-parts/Mill certificates, certificates of origin, traceability and supplier declarations on machined drone components, and what each document does and does not prove.Sun, 26 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTMoving a drone part from three pieces to three hundredhttps://uavmfg.com/blog/prototype-to-production-uav-parts/https://uavmfg.com/blog/prototype-to-production-uav-parts/What changes when a machined UAV part goes from prototype to production: fixturing, tolerances, finishing, documents, price breaks and what to freeze.Thu, 23 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTWhere the money actually goes in a machined UAV parthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/what-drives-cost-machined-drone-part/https://uavmfg.com/blog/what-drives-cost-machined-drone-part/Setup, cycle time, tolerances, finishing and material on a machined drone part, with the design changes that cut cost without changing how the part works.Sun, 19 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMTTwelve questions that tell you whether a machine shop suits your aircrafthttps://uavmfg.com/blog/choose-machining-supplier-uav-programme/https://uavmfg.com/blog/choose-machining-supplier-uav-programme/How to evaluate a CNC supplier for drone components: capability, inspection, documents, communication, capacity and the answers that should worry you.Thu, 16 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMT