Upgraded 1s Meteor75 Frame

🛠 75mm Open-Frame Micro Drone (FDM Optimized)

Overview

This is a custom 75mm open-frame micro drone frame designed for clean airflow, reduced prop wash, and strong FDM print performance.

Unlike traditional ducted whoop frames, this design removes ducts to eliminate turbulence and drag, resulting in a much more responsive and efficient flight experience. The frame is specifically shaped and tested to print well on FDM printers while maintaining real structural strength, not just visual thickness.

This build was tested with a digital system and performs noticeably smoother and faster than typical whoop-style frames.

✈ Performance Highlights

• Very low prop wash, even in sharp turns and quick direction changes

• Clean airflow improves throttle response and efficiency

• No noticeable jello or vibration when printed correctly

• Stable hover and locked-in feel with minimal tuning

• Faster and more responsive compared to ducted frames

• Handles aggressive flying better than expected for a micro build

⚖ Weight & Setup (Tested Build)

• ~42g dry

• ~56g AUW (with battery + digital system)

• Tested with a 450mAh battery

The 450mAh battery provides a good balance of:

• weight

• flight time

• responsiveness

Larger batteries may work but were not tested and may slightly reduce agility.

🧱 Design Features

• Open-frame layout for reduced drag and turbulence

• Reinforced arms designed to bend more before snapping

• Geometry optimized specifically for FDM print strength

• Balanced center layout for stable handling

• Compact design that keeps weight low without sacrificing durability

• Designed to work well with both analog and digital setups

🧵 Print Design Philosophy

This frame was designed with how it prints as a priority.

Key concepts:

• Strength comes mainly from walls and layer bonding, not infill

• Print path direction affects durability significantly

• Thin sections are intentional and rely on proper slicer behavior

• Proper tuning allows the frame to flex instead of instantly snapping

🖨 Recommended Print Settings

(Adjust based on your printer, but these guidelines are important)

Structure

• Walls: 4–5 (critical for strength)

• Infill: 0–15% (low infill works best)

• Top/Bottom layers: 5–6

Slicer Features

• Enable thin wall detection (important for small features)

• Use gap fill / fill small areas if available

• Ensure consistent extrusion (avoid under-extrusion)

Speeds

• Avoid extremely high speeds on outer walls

• Slower outer walls = cleaner curves and better strength

• Inner walls can be faster, but keep reasonable

Cooling

• Moderate cooling (avoid 100% constantly)

• Too much cooling = weaker layer bonding

• Too little = messy prints

Line Width

• Slightly increased line width (~0.42–0.45) improves strength

Material

• Tested with PLA-CF

• Standard PLA should work

• Stronger materials (PETG, Nylon) may improve durability further

⚠ Notes

• This is an open frame, so props are exposed

• Not designed for heavy crash protection like ducted frames

• Frame strength depends heavily on print quality and settings

• If small features don’t slice correctly, adjust thin wall settings

🧪 Development Notes

This frame went through multiple iterations focused on:

• improving arm strength

• reducing brittle failure

• optimizing print behavior

• improving airflow and reducing turbulence

• minimizing vibration and resonance

The final result:

• significantly stronger than early versions

• smoother and more predictable in flight

• capable of handling real flying conditions, not just test prints

🚀 Final Thoughts

This frame is designed for people who want:

• better performance than stock whoop frames

• a lightweight digital-capable setup

• a frame that actually benefits from proper print tuning

When printed and set up correctly, it delivers:
👉 smoother flight
👉 faster response
👉 cleaner video
👉 and a noticeably more “locked-in” feel

If you build it, definitely experiment with:

• battery sizes

• props

• tuning

Because this frame responds really well to performance tweaks