Success Story | Wingcopter
August 12, 2021
ARRTSM is pleased to introduce its digital factory solution for drone manufacturing, combining advanced robotics, digital manufacturing expertise, and autonomous production workflows for commercial and humanitarian drone applications.
This collaboration with Wingcopter demonstrates how autonomous factories can radically transform complex, high-precision manufacturing environments.
The Challenge
Manufacturing drones with curved 3D surfaces defined by aerodynamic principles presents major challenges for traditional production methods:
- Highly complex geometries and compound curves
- Time-consuming manual fabrication processes
- Increased production costs and limited scalability
Due to the intricate surface structures, producing a single drone using conventional manual methods took up to two days.
The Solution
In 2021, Wingcopter approached ARRTSM to jointly develop a digital factory solution tailored to the demands of advanced drone manufacturing.
ARRTSM designed and deployed a fully autonomous, CE-certified digital factory, featuring:
- A single autonomous multitasking robotic system
- Advanced robotic gripper and automated feeder system
- AI-driven toolpath generation for aerodynamically optimized surfaces
- Integrated dust management with soundproof enclosure
- High safety standards combining hardware and algorithmic controls
The system is designed for ease of operation, enabling not only engineers but also non-engineers to run production efficiently. ARRTSM’s training programs ensure rapid onboarding, while the software automates most of the process end-to-end.
The Result
The deployed solution delivers a dramatic performance leap:
- Production time reduced from two days to two hours
- Self-calibrating robotic system with sensor-driven automation
- Ability to mill drone components on both sides using optimized work areas
- Significantly increased throughput and order capacity
Additionally, the system includes a mobile application and cloud-connected software, providing real-time production visibility from anywhere in the world.
Impact
This autonomous digital factory enables Wingcopter to scale drone production efficiently while maintaining exceptional precision and surface quality. The project showcases how autonomous robotics and digital manufacturing can unlock exponential productivity gains in industries defined by complex geometries and high performance requirements.
© ARRTSM GmbH