The Radio Club of America, Inc.

Technical Symposium

New York, NY

3D Printers in

Antennas &

Electronics

Presentation by

Nathan Cohen, Fractal Antenna Systems

November 22, 2014

What’s Ahead

• What is 3D printing

• Method Comparisons

• Good and the‘Meh’

• Antennas/Electronics showcase

• Prospects/Lessons Learned

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3D ‘printer’…Familiar?

• 1940: Cavity Magnetron built out of ‘2D’

punched parts for mass production RADAR

• Percy Spencer

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3D—what’s Different

• Layers or ‘lamination’ done from

liquids to solids in real-time

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Key to 3D Printing

• Patterning a flowing raw material in

layers

• Quick phase transition to make

non-flowing solid

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Hoover Dam– 3D printer…

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3D Printers—Two Types

• Stereolithography(1984)— UV laser

cures liquid resin (polymers)or metal

to build up layers of solid via surface

tension

• Fused Deposition(1987)– melted

(liquid) plastic deposited as threads

to build up a solid 3D structure

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3D ‘FDM’ Printing

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Scott Crump’s Cool Invention

• One thread at a Time…

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Maker Processes

• Casting 1

• Vacuform 2

• Injection molding 3

• Additive/stereolithography 4

• Subtractive ( CNC/machining) 5

• Stamping/cutout deformation 6

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Problems

• MOLDS required: 1,2,3,6

• Setup/equipment costs:1,2,3,5,6

• Energy requirements: 1,2,3,5,6

• Toxic/waste byproducts: 1,2,3,4,5,6

• CPU large: 1,5,6

• Poor for Customizing: 1,2,3,5,6

• Reliability: 1,4

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Specs : a Typical 3D Printer

• Price: $2K ($400- $400,000)

• Materials: PLA, ABS (silicone/metals)

• Precision: 5 microns (1-20 microns)

• Sizes: 6 x 6 x 10 in (4 “ to 10 ‘)

• Build times: hour (1 min to days)

• Reliability: MTBF 10 hrs (1 hr-> days)

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3D Plays Best..

• One-offs

• Prototyping

• Complexity of detail

• Moderate-Sized Lot manufacturing

• Customized

• Replacements / simple components

• Real-Time

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Where 3D is ‘Meh’

• Versatility of material choice

• Strength

• Speed of production

• Reliability: Breaks down!

• Resolution/smooth surfaces

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Antennas & Electronics

• Most antennas ARE 3D--accept and

Exploit the Reality

• On-the Fly customization

• Real Time Shot-Gun optimization

• Complex structure

• Simple mechanical parts cheap

• First 3D parts in 2010 November 22, 2014 Nathan Cohen, Fractal Antenna Systems 15

FOLDED FRACTAL…(why?)

• Example: Fractal Advantage in gain and

bandwidth over conic discone…same base

size (top) same height (Note: copper coated)

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Comparison..

• FRACTAL has better SWR •

• FRACTAL has higher omni gain •

• No harder or easier to print than the

conic….’complexity’ welcome in 3D

printers!

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Data: Gains(top (5 dB))

300-1300MHz SWRs (bottom)

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Antenna Parts(no L’s or C’s!)

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Antenna Mechanicals

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Filter Research

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FRACTAL METAMATERIALS

(Electronics)

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Prospects/Lesson learned

• 3D Printers enabler for boutique

manufacturing, variety of components

• 3D printers lower costs

• 3D printers are unreliable, but some

are cheap enough that backups ok

• 3D printers bring back antenna

experimentation in HARDWARE!

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Thank you! Contact: Jane Winter

Fractal Antenna Systems, Inc.

jwinter@fractenna.com