Radio Frequency (RF) component supplier SWISSto12 has been awarded a $10 million contract by an undisclosed European aeronautical OEM. Under the agreement, the Swiss company will supply 3D printed RF equipment to enhance safety at sea.
The components will be produced using the firm’s proprietary 3D printing technologies, including its Radio Frequency Additive Manufacturing (RFAM) process.
According to Frank Schreckenbach, SWISSto12’s Chief Product Officer, legacy antennas are restricted by conventional manufacturing and assembly constraints. 3D printing overcomes these issues by producing highly complex, lightweight antenna designs that enhance coverage flexibility.
Compact and robust, the 3D printed RF components are well-suited to harsh conditions at sea.
“This introduces a new category of antenna performance which has broad benefits for safety applications in maritime, airborne and ground environments,” added Schreckenbach.
This new contract follows the company’s recent deal with Northrop Grumman Corporation to deliver 3D printed RF antenna feed chains for the GEOStar-3 commercial satellite program.
SWISSto12 claims to possess the world’s largest 3D printing intellectual property (IP) portfolio for RF product applications.
SWISSto12’s 3D printed RF equipment portfolio
Founded as a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (EPFL), SWISSto12 offers a broad range of 3D printed antenna systems. In particular, it specializes in high-performance RF components for communications and radar applications in the aerospace sector.
The company’s journey into 3D printing began with stereolithography, which it used to make parts for radiofrequency components. Now, SWISSto12 leverages metal additive manufacturing, particularly powder bed fusion (PBF), to produce waveguides, antenna components, and arrays.
In a recent interview with 3D Printing Industry, Mathieu Billod, a mechanical engineer at SWISSto12, explained how the firm’s 3D printing approach has yielded impressive results. He noted that consolidating assemblies and integrating functions into single parts has resulted in optimized performance and reduced costs across multiple projects.
In its partnership with Northrop Grumman, an American global defence firm, the company’s 3D printed antenna feed chains were designed as fully integrated monolithic assemblies. Diplexers, filters, polarizers, horn apertures and mechanical interfaces were 3D printed as a single piece, minimizing size and weight. This SatComm project was the first to be carried out by St12 RF Solutions Inc., SWISSto12’s newly incorporated US Business entity.
In 2022, defense giant Lockheed Martin’s Space unit selected SWISSto12 to 3D print phased array antennas for future satellite missions. Working with CAES (Cobham Advanced Electronic Solutions), the firm sought to make 3D printing more easily accessible to US defense manufacturers like Lockheed.
In the project, SWISSto12 conducted the initial development of the phased array antennas. CAES then manufactured the end-use parts at its 3D printing laboratory in Exeter, New Hampshire.
Similarly, SWISSto12 delivered a ‘large batch’ of 3D printed waveguide signal interconnects to aerospace manufacturer Thales Alenia Space in 2020. These components were used in the Eutelsat KONNECT Very High Throughput Satellite (VHTS) program.
The company leveraged its 3D printing and electroless plating to produce the waveguide components. This reportedly enabled weight and cost savings while enhancing RF performance.
3D printing enhances satellite production
Given the advantages of additive manufacturing when creating customizable, lightweight designs with complex geometries, 3D printed satellite antennas are becoming more popular.
3D printer manufacturer 3D Systems has previously partnered with Australian satellite developer Fleet Space to 3D print RF patch antennas. These were designed for the latter’s Alpha satellites, and produced by 3D Systems’ Application Innovation Group (AIG).
The collaboration saw AIG take Fleet Space’s design to small batch production in just three weeks using the DMP Flex 350 metal printer. The 3D printed antennas have been critical to the satellites in Fleet Space’s Alpha constellation, which launched into low earth orbit (LEO) last year.
Elsewhere, the Portland State Aerospace Society (PSAS) 3D printed critical subsystems of the OreSat0 CubeSat satellite, which launched to LEO in October 2023.
The subsystems included a deployer for their tri-band turnstile antenna, a star tracker lens and sensor assembly, and a compact battery pack. The team leveraged a low-cost Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) 3D printer for prototyping, before producing the components from Windform LX 3.0 glass fiber composite material using Selective Laser Sintering (SLS).
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Featured image shows the type of boat that could adopt SWISSto12’s 3D printed RF antennas. Image via SWISSto12.
