STES Stallion Aero

Presented to

PCBWay

PCB Prototype the Easy Way 

Submitted By

STES Stallion Aero

Sinhgad Institute Pune

May 2026

Build • Fly • Innovate

1. About the Institution

Institution Name : Sinhgad Techanical Education Society

Location : Pune , Maharashtra

Established :1996

Website : https://sinhgad.edu

The Sinhgad Technical Education Society (STES) has established a strong legacy of technical excellence, innovation, and industry-oriented engineering education, consistently encouraging students to participate in national-level competitions, research programs, and advanced multidisciplinary projects. With well-equipped laboratories in embedded systems, electronics, manufacturing, CAD/CAM, and simulation technologies, the institution provides a robust ecosystem for practical engineering development and innovation. Under this environment, STES Stallion Aero has emerged as one of the institution’s flagship aerospace initiatives, focusing on the design, development, and testing of advanced autonomous UAV systems while fostering a strong culture of research, rapid prototyping, and collaborative engineering.

2. About Our Team & Drone

• Team Name : STES Stallion Aero
• Team Size : 15
• Core Expertise : Aeromodelling, mechatronics, robotics, Embedded Systems, PCB Design, Flight Control, Computer Vision
• Vehicles Built : Multirotor, Hybrid VTOL UAV, fixed wing
• Current Achievement: 3rd Prize — SAEIDDC 2025 (Technical Representation)
• Upcoming Competitions : NIDAR National Competition, Autonomous Drone Challenges

We are a team of engineering students specializing in autonomous drone and hybrid UAV development. Every component — from frame to firmware, and from power systems to custom PCB avionics — is designed and built in-house. Our goal is to compete at the national level while building real engineering depth across electronics, embedded systems, and flight mechanics.

What We Build

• Autonomous Indoor Drone: GPS-denied multirotor with optical flow, LiDAR, and onboard vision for NIDAR competition.
• Hybrid VTOL UAV: Fixed-wing efficiency + multirotor flexibility with custom power and avionics PCBs.
• Custom PCBs: Flight controllers, power distribution boards, sensor fusion boards — all designed in-house.

3. Project Overview & Competition Mission

Our team is preparing for two major national-level events that test the full depth of autonomous UAV engineering:

• NIDAR (National Intelligent Drone Autonomous Racing): A premier competition requiring fully autonomous flight, obstacle avoidance, target recognition, and timed missions — no off-the-shelf autopilots allowed. Custom PCBs are central to our build.
• Autonomous Drone & Hybrid UAV Nationals: Judged on mission performance, technical documentation, and engineering innovation. Building on our SAEIDDC 2025 podium finish, we are targeting top-3 nationally.

A key milestone this season is learning to design and manufacture our own PCBs for prototyping — reducing iteration time, cutting costs, and building skills that will define our careers in aerospace and electronics.

4. Technical Requirements

The following custom PCBs are required for our competition builds:

Flight Controller : IMU, barometer, GPS, comms - 4-layer, ENIG, FR4

Power Distribution (PDB): High-current, ESC outputs, sensing- 2-layer, HASL, high-Tg

Sensor Fusion Board: Optical flow, LiDAR, ultrasonic- 2-layer, ENIG, FR4

Telemetry & Comms Board: RF module, RC link integration - 2-layer, HASL, FR4

Our competition UAV systems require multiple custom-designed PCBs for flight control, power distribution, sensor integration, and telemetry systems. These boards require professional PCB fabrication with FR4 materials, ENIG/HASL finishes, and reliable multilayer manufacturing for aerospace-grade performance. Since our workflow involves rapid prototyping and iterative testing, each design cycle requires 5–10 PCB units along with stencil fabrication and precision SMD assembly support for components such as STM32 microcontrollers, IMU sensors, and regulators.

Additionally, our UAV development workflow requires extensive rapid prototyping support for custom 3D-printed components that are critical to both structural integration and aerodynamic optimization. These components include aerodynamic fairings, sensor mounts for LiDAR and optical flow systems, antenna holders, payload enclosures, landing gear assemblies, vibration-damping structures, wire-management fixtures, lightweight structural brackets, battery housings, and custom mounts for telemetry and communication modules. Since our competition platforms undergo multiple design iterations during testing and validation phases, access to high-precision 3D printing technologies such as SLA, SLS, or industrial-grade FDM would significantly accelerate prototyping, subsystem integration, and field testing. Rapid fabrication capability would allow our team to quickly refine airframe geometries, optimize weight distribution, improve component protection, and validate mechanical assemblies before final manufacturing. Such support would greatly enhance the efficiency of our R&D cycle and contribute directly to the reliability and performance of our autonomous UAV systems in competition environments. 

5. Why PCBWay

• Proven Quality: Flight-critical electronics demand precision manufacturing — PCBWay's QC standards make it the only reliable choice for UAV avionics.
• Student Sponsorship Track Record: PCBWay genuinely invests in student engineers and open-source hardware — the exact partnership model we are looking for.
• End-to-End Services: PCB fabrication, PCBA, stencils, 3D printing, and CNC — everything our team needs under one roof.
• Learning Ecosystem: PCBWay's community platform and resources directly support our team's PCB design skill development.
• Fast Turnaround: Competition timelines are unforgiving. PCBWay's quick-turn options are essential for our iteration cycle.

6. Benefits to PCBWay

• Logo on Aircraft : PCBWay branding on all competition drones — visible at events, in photos, and in media coverage.
• Social Media : Build logs, competition updates, and PCB unboxings tagging PCBWay across Instagram, LinkedIn & YouTube.
• Community Documentation : Detailed PCB design write-ups published on PCBWay's platform showcasing real-world use cases.
• Competition Exposure : Your brand at national UAV events attended by engineers, academics, and industry professionals.
• Peer Referrals : Active recommendation of PCBWay to fellow students, clubs, and engineering communities.

7. Conclusion

We are a motivated team of engineers heading into national competition with real hardware, real skills, and real ambition. Our 3rd Prize at SAEIDDC 2025 is just the beginning — and as we prepare for NIDAR and autonomous drone nationals, mastering in-house PCB design and fabrication is central to our competitive strategy.

PCBWay's support will enable us to iterate faster, build better, and compete smarter — while carrying your brand to every stage, podium, and publication we reach. We are committed to being genuine ambassadors for a company that believes in student innovation.

We would love to connect and discuss how we can make this partnership work. Thank you sincerely for your time and consideration.

STES Stallion Aero

Sinhgad Institutes - Pune ,Maharashtra

Email: stallionaero_skncoe@sinhgad.edu