Vitesse Programs, a supplier of thermal administration, antenna, and energy distribution options for vital protection and house functions, has accomplished the set up of two extra AM machines and the supply of what it believes to be one of many largest additively manufactured satellite tv for pc antennas in historical past. The antenna was designed, constructed, and examined at Vitesse’s antenna heart of excellence in Longmont, Colorado.
“Additive manufacturing provides distinct benefits that we’ve been capable of leverage to reinforce the design of our choices. Since putting in our first additive machine in 2021, we’ve utterly rethought our method to designing sure varieties of antennas. That is significantly useful for house functions the place mass and measurement are vital, and for floor functions the place working over a broad vary of frequencies is more and more vital for each protection and civil functions,” stated Richie Dart, Normal Supervisor of Vitesse Programs.
“We lately delivered our most complicated house {hardware} up to now. The antenna comprised 1,600 particular person additive RF parts. We had been approached by our buyer in 2022, who sought an antenna companion to help their satellite tv for pc know-how roadmap. By collaborating with our prospects from the idea stage, we had been capable of leverage our house heritage and mix it with the advantages of additive manufacturing. This allowed us to cut back the general measurement and mass of the antenna by 30%, optimize RF efficiency, and ship the antenna in lower than two years. Additive manufacturing builds the antenna layer by layer, which permits us to get rid of inner options which can be solely there for structural causes. This not solely improves RF efficiency but additionally reduces the mass and general measurement of the antenna – a elementary shift for satellite tv for pc functions, permitting our prospects to make the most of obtainable house and mass for different functions,” stated Matthew Alty, CEO of Vitesse Programs. “For ground-based antennas, we’ve mixed additive manufacturing with our current antenna manufacturing processes. This permits us to design extra functionality right into a single antenna, enabling our prospects to speak with airborne and space-based property throughout a broad vary of frequencies and orbits. Moreover, our prospects require options inside more and more shorter timeframes, usually weeks, not months. Our additive functionality, mixed with our RF experience and in-house testing capabilities, permits us to exceed our buyer expectations.”
“Increasing our additive manufacturing capability is a part of a broader funding technique to fulfill the rising demand for high-performance antennas. Over the previous few years, we’ve expanded our engineering, manufacturing, and check capabilities as the federal government has essentially modified how army applications are procured. Growth timelines have been compressed, and efficiency necessities have elevated because the related battlefield has grow to be a actuality and the variety of satellites and interconnected platforms has elevated considerably. In response, we’ve needed to rethink how we design, manufacture, and check our antennas. Additive manufacturing, mixed with our in-house design and testing functionality, permits us to considerably cut back the period of time it takes from design idea to actuality,” stated Matthew Alty.
