Additive manufacturing (AM)

Additive manufacturing (AM), or 3D printing, has gained increased attention in recent decades. For several reasons, such as increased design freedom, reduced cost and production time, or increased manufacturing capability, AM has found its way into an engineer’s standard toolbox. AM has become a state-of-the-art fabrication technique, not only for rapid prototyping but also for low volume production.

AM has become a state-of-the-art manufacturing method, not only for rapid prototyping but also for small volume series production. Today, there are many different 3D printing processes available, offering various possibilities and benefits for an engineer’s design process.

When dielectric structures are coated with highly conductive material, they behave as if there were made from solid conductors in the RF domain. This allows 3D printing of antennas and other RF components, which offer a significant reduction in weight and fabrication cost compared to classical manufacturing.

Even when considering plastics without metallization, AM offers benefits to the RF designer. The concept of infill allows to internally vary the density of a printed part. Therefore, lens antennas with varying dielectric constants can be printed. These designs are very tedious or even impossible to manufacture in a classical process and offer reduced weight, size and cost.

Today, PIDSO would like to give you an in-depth insight into these innovative 3D printing processes.

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