UAV design and fabrication
CARO designs and fabricates UAV structures with an integrated airframe as the basic concept, and has completed actual flight-performance testing. Flight-test photographs and videos are available.
UAV & Aerospace
Individual structural components
Depending on the design, individual fuselage, wing, aileron and battery-case structures are also within the development scope.
THERMOPLASTIC COMPOSITE UAV · DEVELOPMENT CASE
A development case from materials to flight demonstration
CARO connected material fabrication and evaluation, airframe and tooling development, compression forming and actual flight testing in a thermoplastic carbon-composite UAV project.
- 01Material development & evaluation
- 02Airframe design & structural review
- 03Mold design & fabrication
- 04Airframe forming & assembly
- 05Geometry & surface checks
- 06Flight-test demonstration
Material development & evaluation
Thermoplastic carbon-fabric prepreg and laminate were produced and evaluated for tensile, flexural and interlaminar shear properties and fiber volume fraction. Quantitative data are managed separately with the specimen and test-report context.
Airframe design & structural review
Airframe design and structural review connected material and layup choices with the forming approach. Development can address integrated airframes and individual structural components according to the design.
Mold design & fabrication
Compression tooling was designed and fabricated for the airframe geometry, including development of modular mold manufacture using 3D printing. Tooling manufacture and product-forming conditions are managed separately.
Airframe forming & assembly
Thermoplastic composite compression forming produced airframe parts and connected to structural assembly. The report documents manufacturing-process development for repeatable production.
Geometry & surface checks
The report documents checks of curvature fit and dimensional accuracy for an upper-airframe formed part, covering surface contact, edge alignment, distortion and fabric-pattern placement for that prototype.
Flight-test demonstration
Actual flight testing followed prototype assembly. The report records achievement of the flight-performance objectives, and cleared photographs and videos can illustrate the demonstration.
Source: the final report of the 2025 technology-transfer commercialization project (R&D period May 2025–April 2026), development and final-results sections. Results concern the tested prototypes and conditions; they are not a performance guarantee for every supplied product or an aviation certification.
FROM LAMINATE TO FLIGHT
Photographs along the development workflow
01 · Laminate before forming
Representative flat laminate produced by CCM. Material for UAV forming is selected for the product design.
02 · Tooling & press forming
Upper/lower UAV tooling and a forming scene inside the press.
03 · Formed airframe structure
A formed part from the supplied photo collection, showing geometry and surface before trimming and assembly.
04 · Assembled airframe
Photograph of the assembled airframe in the field.
05 · Flight testing
Still image from the supplied flight-test footage. Playback controls are part of the original image; the photograph itself is not a video player.
Images illustrate development stages and do not imply that all show the same prototype or a single test sequence. Photographs and captions will be refined in final editing.
REPORTED FLIGHT-TEST RESULTS
Flight-test information recorded in the report
| Item | Report record |
|---|---|
| Automatic flight | Objective achieved |
| Automatic return | Objective achieved |
| Maximum speed | 154.8 km/h |
| Flight altitude | 230 m |
Source: PDF page 34 performance-results table and page 37 flight-test results in the final report. These are report records for the tested prototype, not guaranteed specifications or operating authorization for every airframe.
Related patent application
Modular manufacture of UAV molds using 3D printing
Application No. 10-2025-0205829; filing date recorded in the report: 22 December 2025. Current registration status remains subject to separate confirmation.
Connect to prototype development
The manufacturing-development experience informs material selection, layup design, tooling and prototypes, testing/evaluation and technical support for production transition. Direct mass production of customer products is not currently offered.
Aerospace applications
Future aerospace applications are considered on the basis of held patents relating to bulkheads and stringers. Certification and delivery claims require separate evidence.