Part 02 / Hardware & flight
06 / 09Design the frame in CAD
Turn dimensions and mass into simulation parameters.
Design around real components, not a silhouette. A parametric frame, a mass budget and an inertia estimate connect the printed vehicle to the simulator.
The goal for this build
What you’ll be able to do.
- Build a parameter-driven CAD assembly with serviceable clearances.
- Budget all-up mass and thrust margin before printing.
- Compute center of mass and inertia from component masses.
- Export one traceable CAD-to-simulator configuration.
What to have ready
- Module 1 completed; this module can run alongside Modules 2–5
- Module 2 controller for the final simulated-hover gate
- Validate Bolt firmware, ESC, deck and intended controller support before ordering
Free account
Read the lesson, run the lab, pass the gate.
The whole course is free. Create an account to unlock the lesson, the build lab and the gate command for this module, and to download the starter kit.
03 / Prove it
Keep the evidence.
Then run the gate.
What you ship
- Parametric frame source and printable exports
- Component compatibility record and complete mass budget
- WireViz wiring plan and its rendered diagram
- cad_to_params.py plus generated simulator parameters
- CAD-vehicle hover run and Module 06 evidence
Module 06 gateEvidence required
- Estimated all-up mass, including allowances, is at most 210 g.
- Motor thrust at a loaded low-battery voltage supports at least 2:1 thrust-to-weight with the +10% payload.
- The Module 2 controller hovers the CAD vehicle in simulation.
- Mass distribution, slicer assumptions and component compatibility are recorded.
- A wiring plan shows how power reaches the ESC and the Bolt and which Bolt port drives each motor; the trainer reviews it before soldering.
With a free account: the gate command and how to record your evidence.
The story behind the build
Episode companions.
Written companions are available now. Recordings and customer access are forthcoming.
Made it through the lesson?
Save your reading progress here. Record your gate result in your project.