Rain proofing a drone using fabric - Which materials to use?

J

janis_blank

Member
I'm currently trying to weatherproof a drone. I'm not exactly planning to fly in rain, but there may be occasions where it simply can't be avoided.
This is an impression of what I'm talking about:
IMG_20241129_094242.jpg
As you can see, there is a lot of open space that would need to be covered. The outlines aren't clearly defined, so I can't just put four carbon plates around it. Developing a 3D-printed solution would be very time consuming, plus the final product would be heavy or fragile and offer a lot of wind resistance.

My current Idea is to simply span some kind of fabric over the open areas, which is fixed at top and bottom using, e.g., velcro tape. However, I don't know what kind of fabric I could use for that purpose. It would have to meet the following conditions:
  • Rain proof, or at least highly rain resistant
  • low wind resistance,
  • lightweight,
  • able to be cut to size without completely disintegrating,
  • flexible.
Does anybody have a recommendation?
 
Hi on amazon they do water proof cloth in square sections which may be idea but it will add weight to the drone
 
If anybody is interested:

The best option I found so far is Nylon filtering mesh with a mesh width of around 100-150 (openings per square inch). It is used to filter particles out of liquids, so it isn't really rainproof. However, when you coat it with textile waterproofing spray, it does a good job while being very lightweight and having a somewhat acceptable wind resistance.

Right now, I fixed it with self adhesive velcro tape, but this doesn't seem very trustworthy. I might try press studs for textiles, which should be fixable to CF plates the same way they're fixed to thick leather.

I know I had to learn a lot when I started with drones, but I didn't expect tailoring to be on that list...
 
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