Waveguide components for space applications manufactured by additive manufacturing technology

Michael Kilian, Christian Hartwanger, Michael Schneider, Markus Hatzenbichler
2017 IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation  
This study investigates the use of novel manufacturing technologies for space antenna feed chain systems. A comparison between conventional and advanced manufacturing technologies concerning the radio-frequency (RF) performance was made, in order to derive design rules for the novel manufacturing technology. Waveguide runs as well as feed chain components were redesigned by using these design rules. Therefore, mainly elliptical and circular waveguide sections were used. Different components
more » ... combined to save mass and power losses. Additive layer manufacturing (ALM) was chosen to build feed chain components in order to investigate the advantages of ALM compared to conventional technologies. This study concludes with an outlook on future opportunities of advanced manufacturing technologies for RF space applications as well as ongoing development activities.
doi:10.1049/iet-map.2016.0984 fatcat:vthoyllntbhlnpdh5ipqizdw7i