Bryn Heinemann

All projects

PolyUAS: Quadcopter Gimbal Mount

Mechanical Design Engineer, Cal Poly UAS club. Winter 2026.

Mk4 is 45% lighter than Mk1, with 0.00003 in modeled deflection at nominal load. Designed in Onshape: a 3D-printed mount and camera cover for Osiris, the Cal Poly C-UAS quadcopter, replacing an aluminum plate mount. Printed in PPA-CF (carbon-fiber nylon), where stiffness governs over strength, and tuned from Mk1 to Mk4 with Abaqus FEA. The mount was printed; deflection is from FEA only.

Mount with the camera gimbal attached.
Mount with the camera gimbal attached.
Abaqus, slightly simplified model. E = 580 ksi, Sy = 24 ksi, isotropic.
Load caseMax deflection, inBulk von Mises, ksi
Worst case, overestimated payload0.001255, against 24 yield
Nominal0.00003not reported
Abaqus displacement, first iteration, worst case. Legend in inches.
Abaqus displacement, first iteration, worst case. Legend in inches.
Printed mount in hand.
Printed mount in hand.