Domain 260 Carbon Frame with Printed Shell
Domain 260 Carbon Frame with Printed Shell
Carbon structure, printed body. A 4 mm woven carbon bottom plate and a 3 mm carbon top plate carry the loads. The Domain 260 printed shell goes over them: pod, lower body, latching battery sleeve, belly pan, arm covers, GPS cover and camera cage. Stiffest Domain 260 frame, with enclosed electronics and tool-free pack swaps.
Key figures
- Bottom plate: 4 mm carbon, 105 g
- Top plate: 3 mm carbon, 34 g, about 49 g with printed bolt-ons and hardware
- Printed shell in ASA, TPU and PA12-CF, about 95 g
- Complete frame about 250 g, same as the printed airframe with far more stiffness
- 260 mm wheelbase, 5 in props, 6S, 850 g design all-up weight
- Safety factor 8.66 at full throttle, 1.36 mm arm tip flex
Built for
- Autonomy and ISR builds on VOXL 2 Mini, Doodle Labs mesh and a Radxa companion
- Fleets that want carbon stiffness without exposed electronics
- Builders who want one hole pattern across printed and carbon airframes
What is in the kit
| Part | Material | Mass |
|---|---|---|
| Bottom plate, 4 mm | Carbon | 105.2 g |
| Top plate, 3 mm | Carbon | 34.3 g |
| Top plate bolt-ons: battery rail, Radxa posts, sleeve latch, XT60 collar | PA12-CF | about 15 g with hardware |
| Pod shell | ASA | 21.2 g |
| Lower body | ASA | 18.6 g |
| Battery sleeve (one per pack) | PA12-CF | 16.4 g |
| Arm covers (4) | TPU 95A | 4.0 g each |
| Belly pan | TPU 95A | 6.2 g |
| GPS cover | ASA | 4.3 g |
| Camera cage (ModalAI) | PA12-CF | 4.2 g |
| Radio tray | PA12-CF | 3.6 g |
| Standoffs and hardware | M3, nyloc |
Bottom plate design
One triangle truss per arm: two edge chords and a wide diagonal. The diagonal is what keeps side-hit strength; a plain slotted arm lost almost half of it in analysis and was dropped. 12 pockets, R3.2 mm inside corners, 3,179 mm cut path.
Specifications
| Material | 4.0 mm and 3.0 mm woven carbon fiber plate, weave at 45 degrees so fibers run along the arms. PA12-CF, ASA and TPU 95A printed parts. PPS-CF printed parts on request. |
|---|---|
| Bottom plate overall | 214.6 x 213.0 mm |
| Motor mount | Dual pattern 16 x 16 and 19 mm, M3 |
| Stack mount | 4x M3 at ±21, ±33 mm, 30 mm standoffs, 90 degree countersink |
| Battery envelope | 82 x 40 x 41 mm, rear lead, XT60. Rounded pack corners required. |
| Tested packs | Tattu R-Line v4 1300 6S, CNHL Black Series V2 1300 and 1500 6S |
| Antenna bores | 2x 6.5 mm in lower-body tail |
| Camera cage | ModalAI M0161 holder |
| Hardware | Screws and nyloc nuts. No heat-set inserts. |
| Edges | Chamfered and sealed |
Structural analysis
Same loads, method and 850 g design all-up weight as the printed airframe. Material values are typical published woven carbon numbers with 25 percent removed for margin. Safety factor above 1.0 passes. Worst of front and rear halves shown.
| Load case (concrete) | Safety factor | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Hover | 73 | Pass |
| Full throttle, worst case | 8.66 | Pass, 1.36 mm tip flex |
| Flat drop onto belly, 0.5 m | 1.99 | Pass |
| Flat drop onto belly, 1 m | 1.41 | Pass |
| Corner drop onto a motor, 0.5 m | 1.22 | Pass |
| Corner drop onto a motor, 1 m | 0.87 | May crack |
| Side hit on a motor, 0.5 m | 0.83 | May crack |
What that means in the field. Flight loads, landings and normal drops pass with margin. Hard crashes onto a motor on concrete are the limit for any 4 mm plate, and that is where TPU bumpers under the motor pads earn their place. Lowest frame modes are 84 and 97 Hz, well clear of the 190 Hz prop frequency at hover. Run the RPM filter.
Build notes
- The 3 mm top plate keeps the printed top plate's 30 mm standoffs, so every shell part fits unchanged.
- Radxa posts assume the Pi Zero 58 x 23 mm pattern, slotted. Confirm your board before ordering.
Other Domain 260 frames
- Domain 260 Carbon Frame: the same bottom plate with a 2 mm carbon top plate, decks and cage. No printed parts, open frame.
- Domain 260 Printed Airframe: PA12-CF unibody with the printed shell.