HP Additive Manufacturing Helps EIVIE Build an NDAA-Compliant Drone

The design was never meant to be conventional

EIVIE set out to build a drone that looked and flew differently from the angular machines common in the industry. Co-founder and CEO Damjan Zabovnik applied his background in cycling aerodynamics to shape an airframe with smooth curves and performance-driven contours. The result is an aircraft that does not sacrifice form for function.

Then the rules changed

Building an NDAA-compliant platform required replacing major components, including motors and GPS systems. Every swap rippled through the airframe. New motors meant new attachment points. Different GPS units meant revised mounts and altered weight distribution. With conventional manufacturing, each change could have meant new tooling, fresh engineering passes, and months of delay.

Additive manufacturing short-circuited that loop. The team simply updated the CAD model and printed the next iteration. No molds, no tooling, no waiting for suppliers to re-spin parts.

Why HP Multi Jet Fusion

EIVIE worked with HP because the company needed isotropic strength in structural components. With some 3D printing processes, part strength depends on layer orientation. HP Multi Jet Fusion produces parts with consistent mechanical properties in every direction, which matters for airframe brackets and mounts that take real loads in flight.

The material behavior also let the team keep the original aerodynamic vision intact. Complex curves that would require expensive molds or heavy machining with subtractive methods came out of the printer ready to assemble.

Scaling from prototype to production

Rapid prototyping gets most of the attention, but both HP and EIVIE see production as the bigger win. Additive manufacturing simplifies scaling because the same digital file drives every build. If regulations shift or better components appear, the airframe adapts without retooling.

Zabovnik said the faster the team can iterate, the more competitive the company stays. Clara Quinquilla, Drones Segment Manager for HP Additive Manufacturing, agreed that manufacturers across the industry face the same pressure: design changes should not require months of delay.

The EIVIE story is a clear example of additive manufacturing moving from prototyping to production. The drone is NDAA-compliant, it preserves the original design intent, and it can adapt as requirements evolve.