Airframe · Payload · Prototype · Low-volume · Production

Additive Production for Drones & UAV

Lighter parts, faster iterations — flight-ready in days, not weeks. For the airframe you need lighter, the mount that changed again, and the volume tooling can’t justify yet. PPAP 1–4 approved, 1–3 day express lead time, 2.5m+ components in service. We work across uncrewed UAV platforms — not passenger-carrying aircraft.

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Drone 3D printing UK · UAV airframe manufacturing · single-piece fuselage · A-class camouflage finish

Overview

It usually starts with one awkward part

Every gram costs you endurance. The payload changed, so the mount has to change with it. You are scaling from a working prototype to a first production run, and tooling cannot pay for itself at these numbers. Different parts, same problem — it has to be light, it has to be right, and it has to be flying this month. To be clear on scope: we build parts for uncrewed drones and UAVs — not passenger-carrying aircraft, which sit in a different certification category entirely.

RYSE 3D is a UK polymer additive manufacturer — FDM, SLS, SLA, MJF — that makes the part, finishes it, inspects it and ships it: one roof, one team you can hold to account. Nylon’s strength-to-weight is built for flight hardware — and from a garage in 2017 to a UK factory and two King’s Awards, we make the parts that get UAV platforms off the bench and into the air.

RYSE 3D production floor in Shipston-on-Stour with industrial 3D printers building UAV hardware

● On-site finishing & A-class paint — vapour smoothing, bead blasting, polishing, dyeing, coatings and paint, all in-house.
● Inspection & 3D scanning on-site — parts verified to tolerance before they ship.
● Real engineering materials — plant-based PA11 through to carbon- and glass-filled PA, PPA-CF and PET-CF.
● Bespoke pellet-fed printers, built in-house for true production output.

Facility	8,000 sq ft, Warwickshire, UK
Production printers	100+ machines
Production programmes delivered	25+
Express lead time	1–3 days (SLS, FDM and SLA)
Components in service	2.5m+
Quality process	PPAP 1–4 approved

The parts that get you flying

Jobs we run for UAV teams every week

Light, repeatable flight hardware on the process that suits each part. Send us yours and we will spec it the same way.

Lightweight 3D printed UAV airframe and arm components in nylon

Lightweight airframe & arms

SLS PA12/PA11 · carbon-filled options · dimensionally inspected in-house

Frames, arms and load-bearing brackets in nylon, consolidated to cut part count and grams, with the strength-to-weight ratio flight endurance depends on.

3D printed payload and gimbal mounts for UAV camera and sensor systems

Payload & gimbal mounts

SLS / MJF · stiff, dimensionally stable · low-volume repeatable

Camera, sensor and gimbal mounts that hold alignment under vibration. Reconfigured and reprinted in days when the payload spec changes.

3D printed electronics and sensor housings for UAV platforms in flame-retardant resin and nylon

Electronics & sensor housings

SLA UL94 V0 · MJF / SLS · flame-retardant & fine-detail

Flame-retardant electrical housings and internals in UL94 V0 SLA resin, plus sealed sensor and electronics enclosures in durable MJF/SLS nylon.

3D printed battery trays and propulsion housings for UAV platforms in durable nylon

Battery & propulsion housings

SLS / MJF · durable nylon · repeatable end-use

Battery trays, ESC and motor housings and propeller guards built for repeated flight cycles — tooling-free from prototype through low-volume production.

Nylon’s strength-to-weight makes additive a natural fit for UAV hardware — airframe structures, payload mounts, enclosures and housings, prototyped fast and produced in low volume without tooling. Tell us the part and the weight target, and we will tell you the process that hits both.

The two we run most

Most UAV work lands on SLS or FDM

We run all four processes, but the majority of what we print for drone and UAV teams goes on one of these two. They solve opposite halves of the same problem: SLS handles the light, complex, repeatable parts, and large-format FDM handles the long carbon-reinforced structures. Between them they cover most of an airframe.

3D printed UAV airframe structure produced by RYSE 3D in carbon-reinforced nylon

SLS — light, complex, no supports

Frames · brackets · mounts · housings · lattices

● Parts build in loose powder, so lattices, internal channels and hollow sections print with no supports and no witness marks — the geometry that takes weight out costs nothing extra.
● PA12 for general airframe parts, PA11 at 40% elongation where a clip or hinge has to flex and rebound rather than crack.
● PA12-CF for the best stiffness-to-weight in the range, in a large-format envelope up to 500 × 500 × 750 mm.
● Cost per part drops as the bed fills, so a batch of airframe parts nests together and prices better than the same parts ordered piecemeal.

FDM — long, load-bearing, carbon-reinforced

Booms · arms · fuselage sections · fairings · fixtures

● A 500 × 500 × 900 mm envelope prints booms, arms and fuselage sections in one piece rather than bonding them from smaller parts.
● Carbon-reinforced grades where stiffness leads — PA6-CF and PA12-CF for load-bearing structures, PPA-CF and PET-CF where heat is the constraint.
● ASA for parts that live outdoors and have to hold colour and toughness under UV.
● Print direction is a design decision on FDM — layers are the weak axis, so tell us the load path and we orient the part to it.

Finished for Esox Group

A camouflage-schemed UAS airframe, A-class painted in-house with a crisp, masked two-tone finish — shown at Esox Group’s own trade stand. Defence and UAV work, printed and finished under one roof, from airframe to paint.

Quote a UAV part →

Camouflage-painted UAS airframe for Esox Group, A-class finished by RYSE 3D

What you get

We’re not a print shop — we’re the production line for flight hardware that has to be light, right and on time

Two people usually sign this off, so here is what each of you walks away with.

For engineers

● Strength where weight matters — nylon, carbon/glass-filled PA, PPA-CF: the strength-to-weight flight hardware needs.
● Tolerances you can sign off — ±0.3 mm up to 100 mm, then ±0.3 mm on the first 100 mm plus ±0.1% for every 100 mm beyond, inspected in-house.
● Geometry that saves grams — consolidated, lightweighted, internal channels moulding can’t make.
● A straight answer on process — we tell you what fits, and what doesn’t.

For buyers

● Parts on time, every time — 2.5m+ components in service, 1–3 day express when you need it.
● One supplier, not five — print, finishing and inspection under one roof.
● A programme you can defend — PPAP 1–4, ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials, full traceability, NDA-compliant.
● Prototype to production — iterate fast, then scale into low-volume end-use without tooling.

Assorted 3D printed drone parts and UAV hardware produced by RYSE 3D

UAV sectors we support

Defence & ISRSurvey, mapping & GISAgricultureInfrastructure & energy inspectionDelivery & logisticsCinematographyPublic safety & SAR

Send us the CAD →No CAD? Send us the part

What we run

Tell us the part. We’ll tell you the process.

Nobody orders “an SLS part”. They order a part that has to do a job and perform. SLS and FDM take most UAV work, but we run all four processes, so your part goes on the one that performs, not the one machine we happen to own.

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SLS · Selective Laser Sintering

Tooling-free functional nylon. Max build 165 × 165 × 300 mm, up to 500 × 500 × 750 mm for PA12-CF. PA12, PA12-GF, PA12-CF, PA11 (plant-based), TPU 90A. 1–3 days express, 5–7 days standard. A Formlabs Fuse X1 arrives December 2026, the first in the UK.

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FDM · incl. large-format

Engineering-grade & large parts. Max build 500 × 500 × 900 mm (340 × 320 × 340 mm for PPA-CF). PA6-CF, PA12-CF, PA6/12-CF COPA, PA6-GF, PPA-CF, PET-CF, PC-FR, PETG-CF, ASA, ABS. 1–3 days express, 5–7 days standard.

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SLA · Stereolithography

High-detail, rigid & flame-retardant. Max build 353 × 196 × 350 mm. Rigid 10K / High-Temp Ceramic-Filled, Tough 2000, Black PU Cast-Like, Flame-Retardant (UL94 V0), ESD, Clear, Flexible 80A. 1–3 days express, 5–7 days standard.

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MJF · Multi Jet Fusion

Durable functional end-use. Max build 380 × 284 × 380 mm. PA12, PA11 Gen2, TPU 01 (Shore A 88–90). Finished vapour smoothed, bead blasted, vibratory polished. Lead time 5–7 working days, standard only — there is no express tier on MJF.

Not sure which? That is the point of the quote — upload the CAD and we will spec it for you, free at our instant quote tool.

Where we fit

When we run your parts, here’s where they land

Additive earns its place when every gram counts, the design keeps changing, or you needed it flying last week. For UAV OEMs, integrators and startups across defence, survey, agri, inspection and delivery, that is most of the parts on the platform.

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Airframe, arms & booms

FDM-CF / SLS. Load-bearing arms, booms and chassis in carbon-reinforced nylon — the strength-to-weight flight structures need.

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Lightweight frames & brackets

SLS PA12 / PA11. Support-free lattice frames and brackets, lightweighted and consolidated to cut part count and grams.

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Payload, gimbal & FPV mounts

SLA / SLS. High-detail camera, gimbal and FPV mounts, dimensionally accurate, reconfigured fast as payloads change.

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Enclosures & housings

MJF / SLS PA12. Sealed sensor, electronics and battery housings, durable, isotropic nylon, finished for UV and water resistance.

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FR & aero parts

SLA UL94 V0. Flame-retardant electrical internals and smooth aerodynamic shells and fairings where surface detail leads.

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Functional prototypes

All four processes. Iterate on form, fit and flight before you commit a penny to tooling, then scale into low-volume end-use.

A range of UAV airframe and drone components produced by RYSE 3D

Got one of these on your desk now? Send it over — you will get a price back, not a sales call, at our instant quote tool.

Right part, right process

Additive isn’t the right answer for every part, and we’ll always tell you so

The value is putting your budget where additive genuinely beats moulding, and for UAV hardware that line sits high: small parts packed into a build stay ahead of moulding to around 1 million units a year; mid-to-large or complex parts suit additive up to roughly 100,000, after which moulding usually wins on unit cost.

Where additive wins for you

✓ Tooling can’t be justified at your volumes — skip the tool, keep the cash for R&D.
✓ Weight saved — lightweighted, consolidated parts moulding can’t make.
✓ Speed — design changes flying in days, not tooling lead-times.
✓ Bespoke-per-platform parts that change with every payload.
✓ Prototype to low-volume end-use on the same process, no retooling.

Where we’ll tell you straight

● We do not produce parts for passenger-carrying drones or eVTOL aircraft. Crewed flight hardware needs certified, airworthiness-grade processes we don’t hold — our work is uncrewed UAV platforms.
● Flight-critical parts on certified or BVLOS platforms may also need qualification we don’t yet hold — we lead with non-critical structures, mounts, housings and prototyping.
● Defence & ISR work can carry ITAR / export-control and security requirements — tell us early and we will be straight on what we can take.
● Need AS9100 or NADCAP? We hold ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials and PPAP 1–4, not flight certification, and we will confirm UV / flammability grades for outdoor service.

Send us the CAD, no charge →

FAQ

Drones & UAV 3D printing FAQ

Can 3D printing produce flight-ready UAV parts, not just prototypes?

Yes. We print end-use flight hardware in materials chosen for the strength-to-weight ratio UAV platforms need — nylon, carbon- and glass-filled PA, and PPA-CF — dimensionally inspected in-house to ±0.3 mm up to 100 mm, then ±0.3 mm on the first 100 mm plus ±0.1% for every 100 mm beyond. Most of our UAV work is production hardware, not concept models.

Is SLS or FDM better for a UAV airframe?

It depends which part of the airframe. SLS suits light, complex, repeatable parts — frames, brackets, mounts and housings — because it prints without supports, so lattices and internal channels cost nothing extra. Large-format FDM suits long load-bearing structures such as booms, arms and fuselage sections, printed in one piece up to 500 × 500 × 900 mm in carbon-reinforced grades. Many airframes use both, and we print, finish and inspect them together as one job.

How fast can you turn around UAV parts?

Express lead time is 1–3 days on SLS, FDM and SLA, with 5–7 days standard. MJF runs 5–7 working days, standard only — there is no express tier on that process. Design changes can be flying the next morning rather than waiting on a tooling lead-time — useful when a payload spec or mount changes mid-programme.

What UAV sectors do you work with?

Defence & ISR, survey, mapping and GIS, agriculture, infrastructure and energy inspection, delivery and logistics, cinematography, and public safety and search and rescue.

Do you hold certifications for flight-critical or defence UAV work?

We hold ISO 9001, Cyber Essentials and PPAP 1–4, not flight certification such as AS9100 or NADCAP. We lead with non-critical structures, mounts, housings and prototyping, and will confirm UV and flammability grades for outdoor service. Defence and ISR work can carry ITAR or export-control requirements — tell us early and we will be straight about what we can take on.

Can you make parts for passenger drones or eVTOL aircraft?

No. Our UAV work is uncrewed platforms — drones, ISR aircraft, delivery and inspection UAVs. Passenger-carrying aircraft, including eVTOL air taxis, require certified, airworthiness-grade flight-critical processes that sit outside what we currently hold, so that work is out of scope for us.

What volumes make sense for 3D printed UAV parts?

It depends on part size. Small parts packed into a build stay ahead of moulding at almost any volume, up to around 1 million units a year; mid-to-large or complex parts suit additive up to roughly 100,000 units, after which moulding usually wins on unit cost.

Can you finish UAV parts with a specific camouflage or colour scheme?

Yes — our A-class paint process gives crisp, masked camouflage and colour schemes to spec, finished on real UAS airframes including work for Esox Group. Vapour smoothing is also available on ABS and ASA parts to seal the surface against moisture and dirt.

How do I get a UAV part quoted?

Upload your CAD to our instant quote tool for pricing from a single prototype up to 100,000 parts, or contact the team for anything that needs discussion first, including defence-related work under NDA.

Ready when you are

Lighter parts, flying sooner.

Additive production for uncrewed drones and UAVs — airframe, payload, housings and enclosures, printed, finished and inspected under one UK roof, with 1–3 day express when the programme cannot wait.

Get an instant quote → Discuss a programme

Printed, finished and inspected at our own ISO 9001 facility in Shipston-on-Stour, Warwickshire. Call us on 024 7736 0144 or request a free sample pack.