KR102691651B1 - Method for manufacturing antenna to secure shapeability and dimensional accuracy of fine shape of antenna slot using metal 3d printing additive manufacturing - Google Patents

Abstract

The method of manufacturing an antenna by securing the fine shape of the slot of the antenna using the metal 3D printing lamination technique according to the present invention includes the steps of forming a support; and creating an antenna including a slot of a predetermined shape by stacking on the support, wherein an up-skin portion corresponding to the lower portion in the stacking direction and a down-skin portion corresponding to the upper portion of the slot of the antenna ( The down-skin part is formed into a circular shape and is continuously laminated from both ends of the upskin part to both ends of the downskin part to form the core part of the slot, and the antenna is built with a cross-section. It is formed at a first inclination angle to be inclined with respect to the plate, and the antenna is formed to be inclined at a second inclination angle because one side of the core of the slot is higher than the other side of the core in the stacking direction.

Description

A method of manufacturing an antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique to secure the formability and dimensional accuracy of the fine shape of the antenna slot

The present invention relates to a method of producing an antenna, and more specifically, to a method of manufacturing an antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique to ensure fine formability and dimensional accuracy of the antenna slot.

Flat antennas with fine slot patterns are used in a variety of ways in the defense/weapons industry. In particular, it is showing its value as a seeker that detects and tracks missiles. Because very sensitive radio waves must be detected to track accurate location and speed, the size of each slot determines the sensitivity of the entire antenna. Therefore, uniform dimensional accuracy of tens to hundreds of finely shaped slots is very necessary.

Conventionally, a micromachining method using an endmill was used to manufacture slot flat antennas. Flat slot antennas require very complex electrical paths to implement functions and performance, and also require a multi-layer structure for sum-subtract distribution of radio waves. Because of this, it cannot be manufactured using general processing methods. Therefore, the parts of each layer are machined and then joined by deep brazing to produce them, but the yield is very poor due to filler residues and electrical defects due to operator skill level. In addition, due to complex manufacturing procedures such as machining, deep brazing joint defects, and assembly defects, the manufacturing period took more than 3 months, and there was a problem that it was very difficult to shorten the delivery period.

Due to these problems, metal 3D printing technology was introduced to solve the problems of the complexity of existing manufacturing methods, limitations in miniaturization/lightweight, problems with yield, high manufacturing cost, and long manufacturing period. However, even if the antenna is manufactured using this metal 3D printing technique, dimensional accuracy has emerged as a major problem, such as the dimensions of the fine slots in the produced antenna are not uniform. However, until now, little research has been conducted to ensure dimensional uniformity and accuracy of the antenna's micro slots when manufacturing antennas using metal 3D printing.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an antenna while securing the fine shape of the slot of the antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique.

Another technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to provide an antenna manufactured by securing the fine shape of the slot of the antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique.

The technical problems to be achieved in the present invention are not limited to the technical problems mentioned above, and other technical problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. You will be able to.

In order to achieve the above technical problem, a method of manufacturing an antenna while securing the fine shape of the slot of the antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique includes the steps of forming a support; and creating an antenna including a slot of a predetermined shape by stacking on the support, wherein an up-skin portion corresponding to the lower portion in the stacking direction and a down-skin portion corresponding to the upper portion of the slot of the antenna ( The down-skin part is formed into a circular shape and is continuously laminated from both ends of the upskin part to both ends of the downskin part to form the core part of the slot, and the antenna is built with a cross-section. It is formed at a first inclination angle to be inclined with respect to the plate, and the antenna is formed to be inclined at a second inclination angle because one side of the core of the slot is higher than the other side of the core in the stacking direction.

The method may further include generating the antenna by further including an antenna body portion in the slot. The antenna may include a flat antenna.

The first inclination angle may be 45 degrees, and the second inclination angle may be 45 degrees. The support may be formed so that a cross-section of the support has the same shape as the slot.

The method may further include forming each of the plurality of slots so that the antenna has a plurality of slots, and forming a support for each of the plurality of slots.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the arrangement cross-section of the antenna slot is laminated at an angle even with respect to the build plate, and the core cross-section of the slot is laminated so as to be inclined, thereby minimizing the downskin irradiation area and significantly improving the formability of the fine shape of the antenna slot. You can do it.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is an effect of maximizing antenna performance by maintaining accurate dimensions of the fine shape and minimizing the amount of deformation of the fine shape portion by forming a laminated support with a solid structure.

The effects that can be obtained from the present invention are not limited to the effects mentioned above, and other effects not mentioned can be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the description below. will be.

The accompanying drawings, which are included as part of the detailed description to aid understanding of the present invention, provide embodiments of the present invention and explain the technical idea of the present invention together with the detailed description.
1 is a diagram illustrating the shape of a slot in an antenna.
FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram for explaining problems that occur during 3D printing manufacturing with the slot shape 105 shown in FIG. 1.
Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a case where the antenna part is at 0 degrees based on the build plate when manufacturing an antenna by metal 3D printing.
Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an antenna by metal 3D printing according to the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the shapes of the support 420 and the part 100 formed by the lamination method illustrated on the right side (C) of FIG. 4.
Figure 6 is a diagram showing the stacked shape of the part 100 when manufacturing an antenna using metal 3D printing according to the present invention.
Figure 7 is a diagram showing the stacked shape of the support 420 during antenna manufacturing.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the attached drawings. The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended to illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention and is not intended to represent the only embodiments in which the invention may be practiced. The following detailed description includes specific details to provide a thorough understanding of the invention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that the present invention may be practiced without these specific details.

In some cases, in order to avoid ambiguity of the concept of the present invention, well-known structures and devices may be omitted or may be shown in block diagram form focusing on the core functions of each structure and device. In addition, the same components are described using the same reference numerals throughout this specification.

Manufacturing the fine shape of the antenna slot uses the DfAM (Design for Additive Manufacturing) technique by adding the additive concept to DFM (Design for Manufacturing) in 3D printing. DFAM is a design concept to maximize the advantages of 3D printing and can be said to be a design for additive manufacturing. Previously, the cutting process of cutting steel had severe restrictions on the shape, and it was impossible to produce complex drawings. There are various cutting processing methods such as 4-axis and 5-axis, but there are limitations in manufacturing complex and precise parts due to the nature of the cutting tool, which cuts metal while rotating at high speed. Additive manufacturing, in contrast to cutting manufacturing, has the advantage of creating a shape by stacking materials, so as long as there are supports, there are no restrictions on the shape, so there is no need to worry about parts that cannot be machined when designing.

In the present invention, when manufacturing antennas such as flat antennas (hereinafter referred to as 'antenna') using a metal 3D printing lamination technique, the aim is to secure the accurate dimensions of the fine shape of the slot within the antenna and to propose a method for improving the formability of the fine shape. do. Flat (type) antennas are used as antennas for RFID readers, antennas for repeaters, and array antennas for base stations.

When manufacturing an antenna with metal 3D printing, dimensional defects may occur due to sintered powder that is not completely melted around the microscopic shape of the antenna slot (hereinafter referred to as 'slot'). Additionally, due to the collapse of the upper concave part of the fine shape of the slot, the target size deviates from the drawing size. Such defects due to sintered powder, defects due to collapse of engraved parts, and uneven dimensions of finely shaped slots are problems that can occur when manufacturing antennas through metal 3D printing.

Difficulties in forming micro-shapes in 3D printing

Unlike mechanical cutting, 3D printing refers to a printing technology that produces physical products by stacking a large number of thin layers. While conventional cutting processing was only capable of producing areas where the machine axis was acceptable, 3D printing can create complex shapes that were impossible in machining without any shape limitations. It can be used with a variety of materials such as plastic, metal, and ceramic, so it is actively used in various industries. However, 3D printing manufacturing has several limitations as described above, and the limitations can be broadly divided into two types. When manufacturing antennas using 3D printing and lamination, the limitations are that the top pattern of the slot inside the antenna collapses and dimensional mismatch occurs. When producing microscopic shapes during metal 3D printing manufacturing, surface quality may deteriorate due to the collapse of unsupported areas, and precision may decrease due to deformation.

The formative structure of metal 3D printing is typically formed using data consisting of parts and supports. At this time, the support structure has the purpose of joining (build) plates in manufacturing a part, stabilizing the stacking direction of the part, and preventing deformation due to thermal stress. In more detail, the present invention proposes a method for improving dimensions through the placement method and use of solid structural supports to solve defects caused by collapse, deformation, and quality deterioration in areas without support during metal 3D printing manufacturing.

1 is a diagram illustrating the shape of a slot in an antenna.

There are a plurality of slots in an antenna (eg, a flat antenna, etc.), and when the antenna is manufactured using a 3D printing lamination technique, a slot pattern 105 is formed as shown in FIG. 1. That is, for reasons such as antenna performance, it is preferable that the top and bottom of the slot in the antenna have a circular shape based on the stacking direction. The part corresponding to the body part of the antenna is formed by stacking starting from the lower circular shape, and then the upper circular shape is stacked.

Downskin (110) can be defined as a surface facing downward, and upskin (120) can be defined as a surface facing upward. The inside 130 of the slot is a hole 130. At this time, since the inside of the slot is a hole 130, the upper circular-shaped portion of the slot becomes a downward-facing surface, and the upper circular-shaped portion becomes a down-skin surface/portion 110. Since the inside of the slot is a hole 130, the circular shape of the lower part of the slot becomes an upward-facing surface, making it an up-skin surface/portion 120. According to the stacking direction shown in FIG. 1, the core parts 140 and 145 of the slot can be formed by continuously stacking from both ends of the upskin part 120 to both ends of the downskin part 110. .

FIG. 2 is an exemplary diagram for explaining problems that occur during 3D printing manufacturing with the shape 105 of the antenna slot shown in FIG. 1.

The first limitation that arises when manufacturing an antenna using a metal 3D printing stacking method is that the top pattern collapses due to the stacking method. If the lower molten metal supports it, it is possible to mold it as shown in the drawing, but if the lower part is maintained in a powder state rather than molten metal, the molten metal collapses into the powder due to gravity. For this reason, supports are generally applied to maintain the upper shape of the slot. However, when a support structure is applied to a fine shape, it becomes difficult to preserve the shape when the support is later removed. Due to this problem, it is very difficult to model/generate tens to hundreds of fine shapes.

Figure 2 shows the collapse of the upper pattern of the slot that occurs when manufacturing an antenna slot using a metal 3D printing lamination technique. Looking at the circular portion 115 on the left side of the upper shape of the slot in Figure 2, it can be seen that a burr has occurred. Even after 3D printing is completed and chemical polishing is performed, it can be seen that burrs still remain. The portion 118 where the burr remains is shown.

Looking at the slot shape shown on the far right of Figure 2, no burrs occurred in the part (up-skin part) 120 corresponding to the lower part based on the stacking direction, so no burrs ultimately remain. can be seen. However, based on the stacking direction, burrs (115) occurred in the part (down-skin part) 110 corresponding to the above part, and burrs (118) remained even after chemical fogging was performed after 3D printing was completed. . Burrs (115) generated during 3D printing and burrs (118) that remain even after chemical fogging affect the microscopic shape of the slot, ultimately causing a problem that reduces the performance of the antenna.

Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating a case where the antenna part is at 0 degrees based on the build plate when manufacturing an antenna by metal 3D printing.

Referring to FIG. 3 , when manufacturing an antenna by 3D printing, the stacked cross-section of the part 100 (including the slot shape and the antenna body portion) is 0 degrees with respect to the build plate 300. What is shown in Figure 1 is also 0 degrees. A portion 118 where burrs remain on the down skin 110 during metal 3D printing manufacturing is shown. As described above, it is undesirable for burrs to remain in the microscopic shape of the antenna slot because it has a negative effect on antenna performance.

As a method for improving the formability of the fine shape of the slot (for example, the downskin portion 110), a method of providing freedom in arranging the slot is first considered. As shown in Figure 3, the fine shape of the slot applied to the vertical arrangement has a large influence of gravity and has a structure in which a large area is melted on the powder at once, so there is a greater possibility of it collapsing toward the powder. Therefore, in this case, the influence of gravity can be reduced by changing the arrangement angle of the slot. By changing the arrangement angle of the slot or part, we would like to present the structure of the support between the build plate and the part in metal 3D printing technology and the arrangement structure for the antenna product.

Figure 4 is a diagram for explaining a method of manufacturing an antenna by metal 3D printing according to the present invention.

Figure 4 shows cases where the angle with the part is 0 degrees, 45 degrees, and 45-45 degrees based on the build plate. (a) on the left side of Figure 4 illustrates three manufacturing shapes: a 0 degree slot shape, a 45 degree slot shape, and a 45-45 degree slot shape. The 0 degree slot shape illustrated in (a) on the left side of FIG. 4 is a case where the lamination cross section is 0 degrees based on the build plate 300 when manufacturing an antenna through 3D printing shown in FIG. 3. The 45-degree slot shape shown in the center (b) of FIG. 4 means that the arrangement of the fine slots of the antenna of the part 100 is inclined at 45 degrees with respect to the build plate 310 during additive manufacturing. The stacking method shown in the center (b) and right (c) of Figure 4 forms a support to support the fine shape of the antenna slot of the part 100, maintaining the exact dimensions of the fine shape and minimizing the amount of deformation of the fine shape portion. You can do it.

The 45-45 degree slot shape illustrated in (c) on the right side of FIG. 4 is, for example, the arrangement of the slot of the antenna of the part 100 is inclined at 45 degrees relative to the build plate 320 during additive manufacturing, and one side of the core of the slot ( 140) is higher than the other side of the core 145 based on the stacking direction, illustrating that the antenna is inclined at an inclination angle of 45 degrees, for example. The stacking method illustrated in (c) on the right side of FIG. 4 has the highest accuracy in the fine shape dimensions of the antenna slot.

When explaining the method of manufacturing the antenna shown on the right (c) in FIG. 4, first, a support of a solid structure is formed. Then, the antenna can be created by stacking the parts on the support to form a part 100 including a slot of a predetermined shape.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the shapes of the support 420 and the part 100 formed by the stacking method illustrated on the right side (C) of FIG. 4.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 5, an up-skin portion corresponding to the lower portion in the stacking direction and a down-skin portion corresponding to the upper portion of the slot of the part 100 are formed in a circular shape. . Then, the core portion of the slot is formed by continuously stacking from both ends of the upskin portion to both ends of the downskin portion. At this time, the part 100 is formed so that the cross section of the slot is inclined at a first inclination angle (eg, 45 degrees) with respect to the build plate 320 .

In addition, as shown in (b) of FIG. 5, one side of the core 140 of the slot is higher than the other side of the core 145 in the stacking direction, so that the arrangement cross section of the slot has a second inclination angle (e.g., 45 degrees Celsius) with respect to the axis of the stacking direction. degrees) can be formed inclinedly. In this way, the stacked structure shown in (a) of Figure 5 can further minimize the downskin area when irradiating metal powder with metal 3D printing than the stacked structure shown in the center (b) of Figure 4, so that the antenna slot The dimensional accuracy and formability of fine shapes can be further improved.

In fact, when the antennas are manufactured in a layered manner using the stacking method shown on the left (a), center (b), and right (c) of FIG. 4, the downskin portion 119 on the right is finer than the downskin portion 117 in the center. It can be seen that the shape dimension accuracy is higher, and the central downskin portion 117 has higher fine shape dimension accuracy than the left downskin portion 118. Therefore, the present invention proposes manufacturing an antenna using the stacking method shown in (a) on the right side of FIG. 4 and (a) of FIG. 5, which can ensure uniform and accurate micro-shape dimensions of the slot of the antenna.

The drawing shown on the right in FIG. 5(b) is a drawing in which FIG. 5(b) is arranged in reverse to show the lowest layer or lower cross section in the stacking direction of the support 420. As shown in (b) of FIG. 5, the support 420 is formed so that the cross section of the lowest layer or lower part is the same as the slot shape of the part 100. That is, the cross section of the support 420 has a hole inside, and this hole corresponds to the slot shape of the part 100.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the stacked shape of the part 100 when manufacturing an antenna by metal 3D printing according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the stacked shape of the support 420 when manufacturing an antenna.

FIG. 6 illustrates the antenna slot shape 105 in part 100, and FIG. 7 illustrates the cross-sectional shape of support 420. Referring to FIG. 6, the parts 100 are formed by stacking them to have a slot shape 105 inside. Referring to FIG. 7, the support 420 supporting the part 100 also has a cross-sectional structure 405 with a hole having the same shape 405 as the slot shape 105. That is, both the upper and lower cross sections of the support 420 are manufactured in the same shape 405 as the slot shape (fine slot shape) of the part 100, and are a solid support having a hole therein.

The upper cross section of the support 420 in the stacking direction is formed to have the same shape 405 as the antenna micro slot shape 105, which is achieved by applying a support 420 of a solid structure around the antenna micro slot shape 105. This is to prevent deformation of the antenna micro slot shape 105 and improve formability. If the support 420 having the slot shape 405 does not support the fine slot shape 105 of the part 100, the fine slot shape 105 may be deformed and formability will not be good.

In the structure shown in FIG. 7 , the solid support 420 may be formed by stacking the upper cross section at a first inclination angle (eg, 45 degrees) with respect to the build plate 320 . In addition, one side 440 of the upper end surface of the support in contact with one side 140 of the core of the fine slot of the antenna is higher than the other side of the upper end surface of the support in contact with the other side 445 of the core of the fine slot, so that the second inclination angle (e.g., 45 degrees) The support can be formed at an angle to achieve this.

Support varies depending on the shape and amount of deformation of the part (eg, antenna) and has the disadvantage of being vulnerable to deformation. Therefore, in the present invention, it is preferable that the support be a solid support structure rather than a block-shaped support structure. Solid-structure supports may be less efficient than block-shaped/structured supports in general metal 3D printing because the amount of support to be removed and the amount of powder consumed during manufacturing are greater, but securing formability for fine slot shapes, such as the fine slot shape of an antenna, is a priority. In this case, it is suggested to use a solid support to minimize the amount of deformation. In the solid type (structure) of the present invention, a portion of the inside of the support is a hole, and the inside is empty so as to be identical to the formation of a slot. In other words, while maintaining the rigidity of the solid, filament can be saved and rigidity can be obtained by emptying the interior to a certain extent.

As described above, a support of a solid structure is used to secure the fine shape of the slot of the antenna. When manufacturing an antenna, parts 100 including a slot 105 and an antenna body are stacked to create the antenna. At this time, the example is based on one slot in the antenna of the part 100, and the antenna is also provided with a plurality of slots. Since a plurality of slots are formed inside the antenna, a solid support is repeatedly formed at the bottom of each slot to create the final antenna. As an example, if one antenna is provided with N slots, it is necessary to create a support for each of the N slots to prevent deformation and improve formability.

As described above, the present invention proposes a support structure and arrangement selection method to improve the dimensions and formability of the fine slot shape. In short, in order to prevent the fine shape of the antenna slot from collapsing and improve the formability of the fine shape, it is formed by stacking the antenna slots to form a first and second inclination angles, as shown in the example shown in FIG. 7. In addition, a support is formed to support the micro-shape of the antenna slot to maintain accurate dimensions of the micro-shape and minimize the amount of deformation of the micro-shaped portion. Therefore, by forming a stack of supports with a solid structure, there is an effect of maximizing antenna performance by maintaining accurate dimensions of the fine shape and minimizing the amount of deformation of the fine shape portion.

The embodiments described above combine the components and features of the present invention in a predetermined form. Each component or feature should be considered optional unless explicitly stated otherwise. Each component or feature may be implemented in a form that is not combined with other components or features. Additionally, it is also possible to configure an embodiment of the present invention by combining some components and/or features. The order of operations described in embodiments of the present invention may be changed. Some features or features of one embodiment may be included in other embodiments or may be replaced with corresponding features or features of other embodiments. It is obvious that claims that do not have an explicit reference relationship in the patent claims can be combined to form an embodiment or included as a new claim through amendment after filing.

It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the present invention can be embodied in other specific forms without departing from the essential characteristics of the present invention. Accordingly, the above detailed description should not be construed as restrictive in all respects and should be considered illustrative. The scope of the present invention should be determined by reasonable interpretation of the appended claims, and all changes within the equivalent scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention.

Claims (8)

In a method of manufacturing an antenna by securing the fine shape of the slot of the antenna using a metal 3D printing lamination technique,
forming supports on the build plate; and
Comprising the step of creating an antenna including a slot of a predetermined shape by stacking on the support,
In the slot of the antenna, an up-skin portion corresponding to the lower portion in the stacking direction and a down-skin portion corresponding to the upper portion are formed in a circular shape, and the down-skin portion is formed at both ends of the up-skin portion. Continuously stacking up to both ends of the part to form the core part of the slot,
A stacked cross-section of the antenna is formed at a first inclination angle so that it is inclined with respect to the build plate,
The antenna is formed so that one side of the core of the slot is higher than the other side of the core in the stacking direction, so that the antenna is inclined at a second inclination angle. According to clause 1,
An antenna manufacturing method further comprising generating the antenna by further including an antenna body portion in the slot. According to clause 1,
A method of manufacturing an antenna, wherein the antenna includes a flat antenna. According to clause 1,
A method of manufacturing an antenna, wherein the first tilt angle is 45 degrees. According to clause 1,
The method of manufacturing an antenna, wherein the second tilt angle is 45 degrees. According to clause 1,
A method of manufacturing an antenna, wherein the support is formed so that a cross-section of the support has the same shape as the slot. According to clause 1,
Forming each of the plurality of slots so that the antenna has a plurality of slots,
An antenna manufacturing method further comprising forming a support for each of the plurality of slots. An antenna manufactured by the method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.