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Aluminum Case For Agricultural Drone Sensor
Aluminum Case For Agricultural Drone Sensor
“In addition to the technical services Star lends, the presence of regional sales
engineers also greatly improves the experience by enabling face-to-face
discussions, promoting quality standards and general vendor-client
relationship building. “
Steven Larsen
Lead Mechanical Engineer and Production Manager, MicaSense
The Project
Our team at Star Rapid was approached by MicaSense to help them build an enclosure for their
agricultural drone sensor that could resist the toughest outdoor environments. The enclosure is made
of three parts, milled from aluminum 6061 with a T6 temper. Some of the parts were color anodized,
while others were given a clear alodine coating.
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Altum can be mounted on and controlled by many commercial UAVs. Image courtesy of
MicaSense
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It’s possible that the anodizing could be damaged in the area marked in red.
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A small radius here is unavoidable but does not affect the functionality of the part.
Material Inspection
As we do with all of our projects, we double-checked that the incoming raw material marked as “AL
6061-T6” was exactly that.
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We used our Oxford Instruments XRF gun to identify the chemical composition of the
metal and confirm that it was 6061.
CNC Milling
Once the raw material was prepared, we built separate holding fixtures for each of the three
components.
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Here is the middle section of the enclosure, after milling and anodizing.
The post-machined areas, shown as raw metal on the left, needed to be flattened
precisely to form mating surfaces for other components to be added later.
Sandblasting
Freshly milled aluminum has a polished look that is almost as shiny as chrome. Unless treated, this
surface will quickly oxidize when exposed to the atmosphere.
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Laser Marking
After sandblasting, both the top and bottom sections were laser marked.
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The laser is able to etch away a very fine layer of material right at the surface.
"One of the greatest benefits for small to midsize businesses is Star’s ability to
deliver product in an end-to-end solution, meaning they complete the
machining processes, anodization process, and laser etching"
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12/7/23, 3:06 AM Aluminum Case For Agricultural Drone Sensor
Steven Larsen
Lead Mechanical Engineer and Production Manager, MicaSense
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