I'm a huge SF fan and I REALLY enjoy SyFys "The Expanse" TV series. SyFy network went one step further and published many models of shows spaceships and insignia on Thingiverse making them 3d printable. Great! New projects!
Since I'm getting more involved with communal WiFi mash networks and open source smart city project in my town, I decided to research and make a small knowledge base on 3d printed antennas. This post will be updated as I gather new information.
Basically, there are two main areas of 3d printed antenna development: High-tech industrial and DIY. The main difference is in type of machines and purpose. Industrial 3d printers are very diverse with applications ranging from aerospace to consumer electronics, while DIY printers use mostly FDM and are used in hobby projects, drones, HAM etc.
High-tech industrial and commercial 3D printed antennas
Optomec Aerosol Jet Antenna 3D printing
Optomec is an industry leader and they integrate their antennas in wide variety of products.
Here is the summary from process homepage:
Mobile device antennas including LTE, NFC, GPS, Wifi, WLAN, and BT have been printed using the Aerosol Jet process and independently tested by a leading cell phone component supplier.
Measured antenna performance is comparable to other production methods. The Aerosol Jet printing process is scalable – antennas can be printed on up to 4 cases simultaneously on a single machine. Machine throughput for a typical antenna pattern measuring ~300 mm2 averages 30,000 units per week.
The Aerosol Jet printer lower manufacturing costs for antennas used in mobile devices. The process works with standard injection molded plastics – no special additives or coatings are required. Based on Aerosol Jet technology, the digital process prints conformal antennas using conductive nanoparticle silver inks.
The printing process accurately controls the location, geometry and thickness of the deposit and produces a smooth mirror-like surface finish to insure optimum antenna performance. No plating or environmentally harmful materials are used in the process.
3D Printing antennas on curved surfaces with nanomaterials
From the source:
“Omnidirectional printing of metallic nanoparticle inks offers an attractive alternative for meeting the demanding form factors of 3D electrically small antennas (ESAs),” stated Jennifer A. Lewis, the Hans Thurnauer Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and director of the Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory at Illinois.
Fractal Antenna Systems is a company that has been working for some 20 years in creating specialized antennas for military and civilian sector based on fractal patterns. They recently published that they also use 3d printers to make some designs.
3D PRINTED ELECTROMAGNETIC TRANSMISSION AND ELECTRONIC STRUCTURES FABRICATED ON A SINGLE PLATFORM USING ADVANCED PROCESS INTEGRATION TECHNIQUES PAUL ISAAC DEFFENBAUGH, M.S.E.E. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (doctoral dissertation)
Instructables user piratetv1 made and shared 7 inch retro looking 3d printable TV set powered by Chromecast. It looks very cool if you are into that design era...
Here is video of Philo in action:
Detailed instructions, BOM and build guide can be found on Instructables:
Helping the elderly lady with high tech medical scanning, 3d modelling, custom laser fused titanium powder hip replacements and stem cells organic glue. Technology is amazing!
"Happines is a 3D printed gun" titled interview with Cody Wilson.
He speaks about:
How the State Department is shutting down Wilson's 3-D printable gun business
What it's like to be surveilled by the Department of Homeland Security
What is the Liberator 3-D printed gun?
How printable guns will change the dynamic of political power.
Will this challenge to the state lead to more personal freedom?
How does the Internet break down the politics of gun control?
What is Dark Wallet? And what's wrong with Bitcoin?
From video description:
"Legal encapsulation is not effectively possible," declares Cody Wilson of Defense Distributed, makers of the world's first gun made via 3D printing technology. "So it's fun to kind of challenge the state to greater and greater levels of its own hyper-statism."
Last year, Wilson and crew unveiled The Liberator, a plastic pistol they created on a 3D printer that fired a shot heard around the world. Then they put the 3D-printing files (or CADs) up on the Internet for free. To folks interested in cutting-edge technology and decentralized experiments in living, Wilson's gun symbolized an age of uncontrollable freedom. To lawmakers, it symbolized a threat that moved faster than, well, a speeding bullet. The State Department, in fact, shut down Defense Distributed's ability to disseminate the gun files on the Internet, claiming the nonprofit was violating federal rules about exporting munitions.
A self-declared crypto-anarchist, the 26-year-old Wilson is fighting the situation in court—and relishing every minute of his battle with the government. While he's aggressively challenging restrictions on 3D-printed guns, Wilson is also working on an innovative Bitcoin project called Dark Wallet, which would further anonymize financial transactions on the Web, and a book intended to inspire a new generation of digital libertarians.
Stay safe people ... liberty is responsibility ...
How 3D Printing Will Change the Way We Make Practically Everything ...
From video description:
On April 4, 2014, Reason TV attended the Inside 3D Printing Conference and Expo, a three-day event held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. There we caught up with: Hod Lipson, an engineering professor at Cornell University, who compared the excitement swirling around the 3D printing industry to what it felt like to work in the computer industry in the 1970s. Brian Quan, the president of X-Object, who predicted that 3D printing will transform everything from toys to screwdrivers by making possible a "new organic creation process." Aleph Objects' Harris Kenny (a former Reason Foundation policy analyst), who discussed the power of open source design and how 3D printing is allowing scientists to create cheap prosthetics and lab equipment. Liz von Hasseln, the creative director of food products at 3D Systems, who demonstrated the new Chef Jet, which is the first 3D printer for pastry chefs. Scott McGowan of Solid Concepts, which created the first 3D-printed metal gun. For more on how 3D printing will change the economy, read Greg Beato's column from the April 2014 issue of Reason magazine. Produced by Jim Epstein; hosted by Naomi Brockwell. Go to http://reason.com/reasontv for downloadable versions and subscribe to Reason TV's YouTube Channel to receive automatic updates when new material goes live.
A new invention being put together could signal a major breakthrough in the way patients with burns injuries are treated. A researcher in Canada has developed a three-dimension prototype printer which will produce human skin from a patient's own cells. Doctors say it will revolutionise the process of skin graft operations, and can save the lives of hundreds of burns victims every year. And not just skin: the technology may also pave the way for producing entire organs for transplants. Al Jazeera's Danel Lak reports from Toronto.
A Spanish company called Natural Machines has invented a way to print food using a 3D printer.The $1,400 printer, called 'Foodini', builds up layers of different ingredients, then pumps out the final product ready for cooking.The machine uses capsules of fresh, unprocessed ingredients and is intended to get more people preparing additive-free food in very little time.Al Jazeera's Sonia Gallego reports from Barcelona.
BBC report on 3d printed bicycle. It still looks somewhat week ... but the technology is developing every day ... They didn't present large high grade metal 3d printers that could produce full size sturdy metal frame ...
Nice project. Take a TV, open it, stick Raspberry Pi running Raspbmc into it with some 3d printed brackets and you have your own DIY smart TV. It's not simple as that, but you get the picture :-)
"Carnivore" tapped the TVs logic board USB ports for power and connected RPi's outputs to TV's input ports which resulted in TV running a Raspberry Pi media center. Superior software on simple cheap LCD TV.
