Abstract
In this work, the application in Radiofrequency Identification (RFID) of different additive manufacturing (AM) 3D-printing technologies is discussed. In particular, the well-known Fused Deposition Modeling (FDM) technology is compared with the promising Digital Light Processing (DLP), which is based on the photopolymerization of liquid resins. Based on the research activity of the authors on this topic, a brief introduction to the fundamentals of 3D-printing in electromagnetics as well as to the different applications of both FDM and DLP in realizing Radio Frequency (RF) devices, is firstly given. Then, a comparison of the two technologies is deeply faced. Finally, after evaluated the rugosity of substrates produced with both techniques to verify the potential impact on the design of electromagnetic structures, the two techniques are both exploited for the realization of the dielectric parts of a tunable RFID tag with unconventional shape. It consists of two elements interlinked one each other. The movement between them enables tuning of the resonance frequency as well as the impedance of the antenna. Despite the differences in terms of losses, rugosity, resolution, and dielectric constant, both techniques guaranteed satisfactory values of tag sensitivity, maximum reading range, and tunability. Nevertheless, the careful analysis of the results proposed at the end of the paper suggests how the selection of one technique over the other must be taken considering the specific application constraints.
Highlights
3D printing by additive manufacturing (AM) is proving to be a promising technology to create high-detailed models wasting less time and spending fewer resources than traditional methods
In Reinhardt et al [8] the production process of a corrugated pyramidal horn antenna has been entrusted to the Selective Laser Melting (SLM) technology
Electromagnetic Properties of the Printable Materials Comparing the results obtained by the dielectric characterization, through the T-Restunable antennas realized with the same conceptual design but using the two different rapid prototyping methods
Summary
FDM is the most common 3D-printing technology and it has largely spread out in the last few years, due to the negligible cost of both printers and needed materials. The possibility to realize electromagnetic devices (with both dielectric and conductive parts) only using FDM 3D-printing needs to be considered Even if this technology allows to print only thermoplastic materials, innovative filaments with conductive properties have been recently developed and commercialized as described below. The authors of the present work experienced the PLA as a matrix instead of ABS, because of its greater ease of print Even in this case, Lichtenecker’s equation can proficiently forecast the final dielectric constant, which is revealed to be, at the same percentage of doping agent, slightly lower than the one obtained by using silicone rubber. FigureF2ig. u(are) F2u. l(lya)3FDu-lplyrin3Dte-dpr2i.n4teGdH2z.4pGatHchz apnattecnhnaanmtenadnea mofaPdLeAof(sPuLbAstr(asuteb)satrnadteE) laencdtriEfile(catnrtiefin(naan)te[1n3n]a. )(b[1)3F].ul(lby) Fully 3D-pri3nDte-dprUinHteFdRUFIHDFtRagFImDatdaeg omf aPdLeAof(sPuLbAstr(astueb)satnradteE)laenctdriEfile(acntrtiefin(naan)t[e2n8n]a. ) [28]
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