10 October, 2023The multiple capabilities of additive manufacturing for the production of parts with complex designs and increased lightness through topological optimisation are well known in this field. However, the verification of these capabilities needs to be validated individually and even more so as the complexity of their performance can give rise to doubts.
In this context, can additive manufacturing technologies be used to obtain high-frequency devices in telecommunications systems, with the same electrical response performance as those manufactured with traditional technologies?
The CAFTAM project (AVI INNEST/2022/138) and its predecessor ALFREC3D have confirmed this feasibility through the development of a complete set of fully functional antenna components.
These developments, in which new radio frequency filters for satellites were obtained by additive manufacturing, were proposed for the prestigious TCT awards in the aerospace and defence category. In this area, the company competed with partners such as the US Air Force, winners together with HypenInnovation; the European Space Agency (ESA), together with the University of Cambridge, and companies such as EmTroniX - with Yuri. In other categories of the awards, internationally renowned companies such as Hasbro, Marvel Studios, Microsoft, Netflix, Siemens, etc. should be highlighted.
In this regard, it is worth highlighting AIJU's experience in obtaining parts with a high surface quality when obtaining these devices through additive manufacturing, and which, thanks to their subsequent metallisation, offer the same electrical response performance as those manufactured with traditional technologies. In addition to minimising the generation of waste in their manufacture, the use of additive manufacturing technologies for the manufacture of these antennas has made it possible to reduce their final weight by up to 10 times.
In the visit carried out in parallel to the TCT3Sixty conference, it was also clear that there is a growing market trend for additive manufacturing for use as a final product, with many industrial solutions for post-treatment to improve their performance and aesthetic finishes. On the other hand, advances in the integration of additive manufacturing technologies in the production chain, as well as automation proposals.
