Flexible additiv manufacturing of micrometer/millimeter wave components
| Reference number | |
| Coordinator | Chalmers Tekniska Högskola AB - Institutionen för industri och materialvetenskap |
| Funding from Vinnova | SEK 3 600 000 |
| Project duration | March 2019 - June 2023 |
| Status | Completed |
| Venture | The strategic innovation programme for Production2030 |
| Call | Strategic Innovation Programme Produktion2030, call 11 for proposals within research and innovation. |
Important results from the project
The purpose of the project is to find out how far additive manufacturing can be used to realize components for millimeter and micrometer waves. With current technology (PBF-LB and/or BJ), the project has shown that this is possible with potential in terms of design and repeatability. In general, the project has led to a knowledge platform where there are conditions to establish a closed loop from design via manufacturing and evaluation for precision components. Further evaluation of product design and application tests are essential parts of this.
Expected long term effects
New technology that enables future precision manufacturing through metal additive manufacturing has been evaluated. The two techniques powder bed fusion - laser beam (PBF-LB) and binder jetting (BJ) show potential to realize precision details, but require further development for waveguide components. Test objects for geometric evaluation and functional testing have been developed. Potential repeatability has been demonstrated. Digital preparation and process modelling for fine-scale precision have been demonstrated.
Approach and implementation
The plan has been to develop and manufacture test objects through laser fusion in a powder bed (powder bed fusion - laser beam, PBF-LB) and binder jetting (BJ). PBF-LB has been done at Chalmers, RISE and EOS, while BJ has been done at Digital Metal. Prediction of expected performance and evaluation of functional properties has been done by Ericsson. Chalmers and RISE have further developed test models where geometric accuracy can be evaluated without functional testing. Final manufacturing campaign has been done to evaluate repeatability and precision with lot of test objects.