TealOne Consumer Drone
More the 30 custom parts that were injection molded and diecast.
Overview
I designed every mechanical part of the Teal drone in less than ten weeks for excellent manufacturability and better flight performance. I worked closely with the lead electrical engineer to fit all electronics into the enclousre. The TealOne included a large TX1 SOM for edge compute, and I designed the thermal management system to keep it cool during flight and while stationary.
I collaborated with tooling engineers to design each mold and personally approved every design. I traveled to the manufacturing facility in China to review early production parts and provide final approval. The project encompassed more than 30 unique parts across multiple manufacturing processes: injection molding, die casting, stamping, and compression molding.
Close-up of chassis assembly. It was assembled from 4 parts.
Die-cast aluminum headsink for the TX1 SOM.
Tooling for cutting molds.
Top cover mold.
Pre-production run of 100 drones. We had 98% yield on the first run.
TealOne going through life testing on a vibration table.
Accomplishments
- ✓Designed the entire aircraft structure to accommodate new payloads while simplifying assembly for production.
- ✓Optimized manufacturing processes for injection molded plastics, stamped steel, die cast aluminum, and over-molded assemblies.
- ✓Engineered the thermal management system to keep TX1 SOM within acceptable operating temperatures.
Lessons Learned
- •Early, frequent vendor communication keeps tooling issues from derailing tight schedules.
- •Co-locating with manufacturing partners during prototype runs saves time on iterations and clarifies expectations.