Lift UP team - University of Padua

The Lift UP project was founded in 2017 by a group of students with the idea of ​​designing and building fixed-wing radio-controlled drones to participate in the international university competition Air Cargo Challenge and thus represent the University of Padua at an international level.

The students members learn to work in a team, to compare and discuss their work with the one made up from the others, to respect deadlines and project requirements. We also try to increase our know-how by testing new production methods, especially in the field of composite materials, such as working with other companies leaders in the specific field of the composites materials (like Compositex or Carus).

Each of our drones is born following a careful design process that covers all the main systems of the aircraft. The various internal divisions of the project are responsible for designing and optimizing all the characterizing aspects starting from aerodynamics to structural design, all with the aim of maximizing performance in competition.

Once the design phase is completed, our drones begin to come to life in the laboratory of the Department of Industrial Engineering. The Structures division, together with the On-Board Systems division, deals with physically building the aircraft using the most suitable materials. From balsa wood, to high-performance components made with composite materials in fiberglass and carbon fiber that we produce directly on site through Vacuum Assisted Resin Transfer Molding or parts made up by the usage of the additive manifacturing system.

To test the performance of our aircraft, we often go to specially equipped airfields to carry out measurements and flight tests. All these results will then be used to further improve the performance and design of future aircraft.

The team would greatly benefit from the support of PCBWay. As a team dedicated to designing and building drones for international competitions, we face challenges in sourcing and manufacturing parts within our budget and timeline. To continuously improve our knowledge, we place great importance on research and data measurement, which are essential for refining our designs and enhancing performance.

In this context, we have independently developed a tensile machine to test composite materials and a test stand to measure the performance of the propulsion block, consisting of the engine and propeller. The integration of specific PCB boards will allow us to further refine these systems, making data collection more precise and facilitating future improvements. This will not only optimize our current processes but also ensure clearer documentation and a solid foundation for future developments.

Last but not least, to increase the value of our productions we are implementing the idea of ​​creating drones with photovoltaic cells installed on the wings, so that would benefit from the PCB boards provided to us by PCBWay