Case Study: Nokia achieves certified 5G drone manufacturing success with Protolabs

Protolabs’ digital manufacturing service goes above and beyond for Nokia

Nokia Enterprise Solutions partnered with Protolabs to support the development of a CE/CB certified 5G industrial-use UAV for drone network applications. The challenge was to create lightweight drone parts that met strict aviation safety, flammability, outdoor durability, and connectivity requirements while still enabling high-performance 5G operation.

Protolabs provided expert application engineering and rapid injection moulding, producing 19 different part designs for the drone’s casing, structural elements, and gasket. Protolabs also helped Nokia identify a suitable material, adapt tooling, and adjust part design to ensure proper mould flow; the parts were quickly sampled, verified, and shipped, enabling Nokia to move forward with production and establish a long-term partnership with Protolabs.

Nokia

Thomas Eder

Head of Embedded Wireless Solutions