Ku-Band Lightweight Aluminium Waveguides Fabricated by Direct Metal Laser Sintering Process

International audienceThis paper attempts to establish a good base for weight-reduction technique of microwave devices using 3D printing techniques. Experimental studies to minimize the weight of radiofrequency waveguides printed using additive manufacturing techniques are presented. Two types of Kuband rectangular waveguides (perforated and full-metal) have been printed using direct metal laser sintering (DMLS) process. The insertion losses increased by ~1.2 dB/m after applying 1 mm grids which reduces the weight of Ku-band rectangular waveguide by ~17.5%. Comparison between these measurements and those of a waveguide manufactured by conventional method was used to determine process loss. The insertion losses of full-metal waveguide manufactured using DMLS process increase by ~0.7 dB/m compared to the conventional one. Finally, RF measurements of waveguides manufactured using DMLS process show a good agreement with the simulation results