Material & Geometry Testing
Evaluate stiffness, weight, shrinkage, finish, and part geometry with real molded plastic instead of relying only on printed parts.
Drones - UMVs
Bring Real-World Manufacturing to Drone and UMV Development
Innovate faster in drone and unmanned vehicle manufacturing with compact, precision injection molding. Go beyond 3D printing and stop outsourcing. With the APSX injeciton machines, your teams can mold repeatable, production-grade plastic and silicone parts in-house for development, testing, and low-volume production.
Drone and unmanned vehicle systems require lightweight, durable, repeatable plastic parts that perform in real operating conditions. APSX’s small-footprint injection molding machines help UAV and UMV developers move from concept to functional thermoplastic parts quickly and affordably. From sensor housings and cable clips to covers, brackets, and airframe support components, APSX machines give your team a practical way to iterate faster, test better, and reduce dependence on outside suppliers.
Preparing UAV Teams for Faster, Functional Part Development
Slow Outsourcing | Outsourced tooling delays
Tooling quotes, prototype delays, and short-run vendor lead times slow airframe development, subsystem testing, and flight iteration.
Prototype ≠ Production | Printed parts vs molded parts
3D printed parts are useful early, but they often do not reflect the molded material performance, repeatability, or production geometry needed for real-world drone applications.
Fast Iteration | Constant design changes
Drone and UMV systems evolve quickly. Housings, clips, covers, mounts, wire-routing features, and assembly details often need multiple revisions before the design is stable.
The Solution: A Complete Desktop System
The APSX-PIM V3 is an all-electric, enclosed, automatic injection molding machine designed for quick setup and quick production. UAV teams can create production-representative thermoplastic parts in-house, tune process parameters, and test fit, strength, and material performance without waiting on outside vendors.
- High Precision & Repeatability
Maintain consistent fit and geometry for housings, clips, covers, fairings, and structural support parts. With the high-end sensor technologies, repeatable molding performance is standard with the APSX-PIM V3 injection machine. - Rapid Functional Prototyping
Quickly mold real plastic parts in-house, speeding up design iteration, subsystem validation, and flight testing. The whole process can be completed in ONE-DAY from 3D drawing to holding a finished plastic part in your hand. You have options to use an aluminum mold or a 3D printed mold. - Cost-Effective Small Batch Production
Ideal for beta fleets, pilot production, internal testing builds, or replacement parts without the high overhead of industrial injection molding. Once your part design is finalized, you can still use the APSX-PIM to make 1000 parts a day! If your part is small enough to use a multiple cavity mold, multiply that 1000 parts by the number of cavities. - Compact, Lab-Friendly Design
Easily fits into drone labs, engineering departments, and pilot production cells with minimal setup. The APSX-PIM can be placed on a 4' by 2' bench or table. There is only one cable to connect to 110V power. There are no water or shop air connections required. It is a very clean and simple setup. You can make your first test part in 30 minutes. - Broad Range of Engineering Resins
Run common thermoplastics such as PP, ABS, PC, HDPE, Nylon, and POM depending on the part design and application. Here are some sample materials that you can choose from.
Test ribs, bosses, snap fits, wall thickness, mounting tabs, and cable features on a low-cost mold before finalizing production designs. Produce parts for integration builds, field testing, customer demos, and pilot fleets without waiting on outside tooling vendors. Quickly iterate electronics covers, GPS housings, battery retainers, cable clips, landing-gear accessories, and assembly fixtures in-house. Sensor and Camera Housings Protective enclosures for cameras, LiDAR, telemetry, and embedded sensor systems that require stable fit and lightweight construction. Battery and Electronics Covers Functional housings and covers for power systems, control electronics, and communication modules used in drone platforms. Cable Routing Clips and Guides Custom molded plastic components that help manage wiring, tubing, and cable paths in compact airframes and vehicle assemblies. Landing Gear and Support Components Low-volume molded plastic parts used in ground contact, structural support, and replaceable external hardware. Airframe Accessories and Mounts Brackets, interface parts, clips, retainers, and lightweight support features for UAV system integration and testing. Fixtures and Assembly Aids In-house molded support parts for production support, airframe assembly, subsystem alignment, and maintenance setups. APSX systems are used by innovators, labs, and manufacturers that need practical in-house production capability for real plastic parts. For UAV and UMV teams, that means faster iteration, more control over development, and a better bridge between prototype and production. Small to medium plastic parts such as housings, covers, clips, cable guides, battery covers, and low-volume functional components are a strong fit. Yes. You can machine aluminum molds by using the templates we provide. No need for any assembly work. But a 2-hour remote first part session with an APSX engineer is available on request. Yes. APSX-PIM is well suited for pilot fleets, beta units, replacement parts, and other short-run production needs. Let’s discuss how APSX-PIM V3 can help your team move faster with real thermoplastic parts made in-house.Unlock a New World of UAV Product Development
Design for Manufacturing (DFM)
Short-Batch Flight Validation
Housings, Mounts & Fixtures
Potential Applications & Specific Parts
Built for Teams That Need to Move Fast
Drones / Unmanned Vehicles FAQs
What types of drone parts are appropriate?
Can we make our own molds?
Do you help with setup and training?
Can APSX-PIM support low-volume production?
Ready to Build Better UAV Parts Faster?
CNC Machining Solutions for Drones and Unmanned Vehicles
Expand UAV Development with Compact Swiss CNC Turning
APSX’s small-footprint Swiss CNC lathe, the APSX-NANO, gives UAV teams the ability to machine small, precise metal components in-house. From shafts and pins to custom fasteners and miniature hardware, APSX-NANO helps engineering teams move faster and reduce dependence on outside machine shops.
Advantages of APSX-NANO for Drones and UMVs
- High Precision for Small Components
Machine tight-tolerance parts such as shafts, pins, bushings, spacers, and miniature hardware used in drone and unmanned vehicle systems. - Compact Design
Integrates smoothly into engineering labs, prototyping spaces, or pilot production cells with minimal floor space requirements.
- Cost-Effective Low-Volume Machining
Ideal for specialized short-run parts without the overhead of large machining centers or long outsourced lead times. - Broad Material Compatibility
Machine aluminum, stainless steel, brass, and other common engineering metals depending on the application. To see more available materials please go to APSX-NANO Swiss CNC category. - Faster Prototyping & Iteration
Quickly create and revise critical metal hardware in-house instead of waiting for external machine shop deliveries.
Potential Machined Parts for UAV Systems
- Shafts and Pins
Small precision components used in moving mechanisms, mounts, pivots, and support systems. - Custom Fasteners and Hardware
Short-run specialized mechanical elements for airframes, payload interfaces, and field-repair kits. - Miniature Spacers and Bushings
Useful for alignment, spacing, and precise assembly in compact UAV systems. - Sensor and Mechanical Interface Parts
Small turned components used to support instrumentation, payloads, and precision assemblies.
Contact Us
Learn how APSX-PIM and APSX-NANO can help your UAV team prototype faster, validate with real parts, and build stronger low-volume workflows in-house.