The Incredible Fused Filament Fabricator
- Riley Hadjis
- Noa Margalit
- Mark Hinkle
- Avery Anderson
- Jack Danielski
- Mike Fruge
Project Sponsor: Professor Zoya Popovic, inspired by the work of visiting Professor Jose Ramon Montejo Garai, who also served as an advisor to the team
The Incredible Fused Filament Fabricator (IFFF) allows users to 3D print custom waveguide components directly from simulated designs. This additive-manufacturing workflow allows for cheaper, faster development, and opens the door to previously non-manufacturable systems.
The current problems that the IFFF solves are delays caused by outsourcing production, high costs of parts, and additive manufacturing capabilities that current waveguide manufacturing solutions do not have. The IFFF reduces time between design iterations because there will not be the need to wait for shipping since manufacturing is done in house. Additionally, it will greatly reduce the price of the waveguides by hundreds of dollars since waveguide components currently cost a minimum of $200 from suppliers, whereas the IFFF will print a fully functional waveguide part for approximately less than $20. The use of additive manufacturing also sets the IFFF apart from other current solutions since 3D printing of the waveguides also allows for geometries that are not possible with subtractive manufacturing methods.
Ultimately, the IFFF project brings waveguide manufacturing in-house: reducing costs and wait-times for researchers through an application specific 3D printer that can produce the waveguide shape and coating the waveguide with a specified material to be chosen by the user.
The IFFF has been designed specifically for the benefit of RF and antenna researchers or students who must design iteratively in the face of budget and time constraints. The IFFF benefits anyone who needs rapid prototyping and coverage of waveguide parts, all while being very cost efficient and local. This makes it an ideal solution for students, teachers, and researchers in the education sector.
While 3D printers do exist today, the IFFF offers capabilities that are not readily available in most printers. The IFFF simplifies user-interaction by presenting a convenient UI for users and on-board memory that can be used to create a library of custom waveguide parts. Additionally, a student of RF engineering is empowered to design, implement and test high-frequency systems with low overhead and low cost. Researchers can also design and iterate upon systems that would have otherwise been cost-prohibitive to manufacture. In conclusion, the IFFF is an ideal solution for printing waveguide components.