3D Printing Technology of the Conformal Load Bearing Antenna Structure

Considering the numerous steps, complicated process, higher cost and the electromagnetic parts are difficult to constitute the complex surfaces in the traditional manufacturing process of the conformal load bearing antenna structure (CLAS), a novel manufacturing method based on the five-axis CNC platform and 3D printing technology is investigated to improve the forming precision, high stability and reliability. Firstly, to print the CLAS with non-developable surface, a dimension reduced strategy is proposed, that is, numerous micro-planes are used to approximate the freeform surface, and each micro-plane can be regarded as a printing unit. Secondly, to control the inkjet printing process accurately, an equivalent circuit model of the linear time-varying system based on radial displacement of the orifice is presented, which can be utilized to predict the flow regime in pipeline and droplets formation according to variation of the pipe diameter. Thirdly, considering the substrate is hard to endure high temperature, the flash sintering with low temperature characteristics is used and quantitative relations among the substrate roughness, concentration of the conductive solution, power density and number of flashes are established. Finally, experimental results has verified the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed manufacturing process.