Helicopter drone

Profile

• What was needed: igubal rod end bearings, iglidur fixed flange bearings
• Requirements: Precise and absolutely clearance-free linkage, corrosion-free, dirt-resistant and maintenance-free, lightweight solution in a small installation space
• Industry: Aviation, drones
• Success for the customer: The linkage of the rotor blades as well as the bearing of the moving end and the tail boom could be solved with very light bearing solutions from the igubal and iglidur bearing range. They guarantee zero clearance in the smallest installation space, corrosion protection, freedom from maintenance and resistance to dirt.

Problem

For the MARVIN Mk3 helicopter drone, different bearing systems were to be used to link the rotor blades and to decouple the tail rotor from vibrations. The drone's area of application brought with it special requirements for the components installed, above all the following targets were applicable for the linkage of the rotor blades: First of all, precise and absolutely clearance-free linkage had to be ensured, even when several rod end bearings were connected in series. The metal sleeves ensure secure fastening without impairing the smooth movement of the heads. Due to the outdoor use, it was also important that the drone and all individual components were corrosion-free, dirt-resistant and maintenance-free. As flawless flying performance of the drone had to be ensured, the solution also had to be as lightweight as possible, while fitting into only very limited installation space.

Solution

The rotor blades are steered by means of a swash plate in order to transfer the control movement of the actuators to the rotating rotor blades. The attachment of the push rods, the swash plate and the rotor blade holders is carried out via igubal rod end bearings of the type KBRM-03MH. The rotating part of the swash plate is driven by the rotor head via an articulated moving end. It performs an oscillating movement with each revolution of the rotor. The bearing of the moving end and the connection of the two moving end arms are made with iglidur fixed flange bearings of the type WFM-0304-03. The bearings ensure zero clearance in a small installation space and meet all requirements for corrosion protection, freedom from maintenance and dirt resistance. The moving end could be made significantly slimmer and lighter than when using ball bearings.
Furthermore, the entire tail boom of the helicopter was rotatably mounted around its longitudinal axis in order to decouple rotational vibrations around this axis from the tail rotor via a dampener structure. Fixed flange bearings of the type WFM-5560-60 are used here.