ACS Australia manufactured a carbon fibre composite camera housing for attachment on a light aircraft for inflight aerial imaging. The camera housing required one front facing dome port and two downward facing lens ports, allowing for medium-format cameras to be mounted inside and have varying angles. The assembled structure is stiff and light-weight, nominally the composite structure is 2 kg, enabling the user to manually load / unload from the aircraft wing strut without the need for support equipment. Moreover, the modular design permits disassembly of components to individually adjust cameras and electrical equipment.
The structure is made with laminated carbon fibre at a nominal thickness of 2 mm, with integrated flanges for each subcomponent, to protect joins from dust and water ingress. Additionally, the blackened interior offers reduced internal reflections and dampens light leaks, enhancing imaging quality. A gel coat was used on the exterior for UV protection, while achieving a high surface quality finish. The carbon fibre housing was manufactured and assembled in-house at our Melbourne facility.
Watch our video to learn about the aerial imaging camera housing!