Executive Summary
Illini Autonomous Vehicles partnered with JawsTec to produce a custom monocoque airframe for their competition drone using industrial 3D printing. The printed frame matched the performance of a machined aluminum equivalent at a fraction of the cost and lead time, giving the team more time to focus on software and systems integration before the SUAS 2026 competition.
Client & Application Context
Illini Autonomous Vehicles is a student engineering organization at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The team designs, builds, and flies autonomous drones built for search and rescue applications. Their primary goal this season is competing in the Student Unmanned Aerial Systems (SUAS) 2026 competition against university teams nationwide.
JawsTec manufactured the custom monocoque frame — the central structural component that holds the entire drone assembly together. This is an end-use part installed directly on the competition drone, not a prototype.
Problem
Illini needed a lightweight, high-strength custom frame with complex geometry. Traditional manufacturing wasn’t a realistic option.
Specific constraints included:
- No access to CNC machining equipment capable of producing the required geometry
- A machined aluminum frame would have taken several weeks of labor and setup
- Budget limitations ruled out conventional fabrication for a one-off custom design
- A slow turnaround would eat directly into software testing and flight tuning time
Why 3D Printing
3D printing let the team design an optimized frame without tooling costs or design compromises.
Key reasons for choosing additive manufacturing:
- Complex geometry producible without custom fixtures or tooling
- Significant cost reduction compared to machined alternatives
- Fast turnaround from final CAD to finished part
- Strong strength-to-weight ratio suitable for high-performance flight
Results & Performance
The JawsTec frame performed on par with a machined aluminum equivalent and came in significantly lighter than previous iterations.
Key results:
- Comparable rigidity and impact resistance to CNC aluminum
- Reduced frame weight, directly improving flight efficiency and maneuverability
- Production completed in days rather than weeks
- Part arrived ready to install, with no additional post-processing required
“A machined frame would have taken weeks and blown our budget. JawsTec delivered a finished, ready-to-fly part in a fraction of that time — and it performed like a part that cost ten times as much.” — Areg Gevorgyan, President, Illini Autonomous Vehicles
Business Impact
By eliminating manufacturing delays and costs, Illini was able to redirect limited student resources toward higher-priority development work.
Key outcomes:
- Weeks of lead time recovered and reallocated to electronics assembly and software testing
- Budget savings applied to sensor integration and other critical systems
- Team arrived at SUAS 2026 with a complete, competition-ready drone
- Professional-grade airframe achieved without a professional manufacturing budget
Conclusion
JawsTec’s 3D printing capabilities gave Illini Autonomous Vehicles a fast, cost-effective path to a competition-ready airframe. The part held up to the demands of high-performance autonomous flight while freeing the team to focus on what actually wins competitions — the software and systems behind it.