Veteran 3D printing company 3D Systems has announced a partnership with Australia’s Fleet Space Technologies to 3D print radio frequency (RF) patch antennas for its Alpha satellite constellation.
The 3D Systems Applied Innovation Group (AIG) has 3D printed a radio frequency (RF) patch antenna for Fleet Space’s Alpha satellite using two materials, LaserForm AlSi10Mg and A6061-RAM2. The Applied Innovation Group (AIG) develops a complete 3D printing solution for RF patch antenna design, including process development and bridging production on a metal 3D printer. This enabled Fleet Space to begin low-volume production of RF antennas in just three weeks.
According to Fleet Space, the 3D printed patch antenna is very effective, and the design of the antenna is completely based on the size, weight and performance of the satellite, and reduces the steps of post-processing. In addition, this design greatly improves the throughput of satellite information.
3D Systems says their metal 3D printer has a unique vacuum chamber that enables printing in a low-oxygen environment (<25ppm), resulting in a good surface finish and fine feature detail that minimizes signal loss. And 55 patch antennas can be printed at one time.
Fleet Space is currently using 3D Systems’ metal 3D printers to print patch antennas that will be installed on 140 satellites. The 140 satellites will form a constellation to search for natural resources through environmental noise tomography.
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