Rapid prototyping of waveguide and horn antennas

In this paper we review how fused deposition modelling (FDM) can be deployed for the rapid prototyping of microwave waveguide componentry and antennas. Additive manufacture of such objects allows new, novel and complex structures to be fabricated with lower impact on the environment relative to current manufacturing processes, plus the fast turnaround of design to manufacture and test. Additionally while the resulting physical antenna properties may not be perfect compared to the design or what can be machined, their RF/microwave performance can be quite forgiving thereby allowing the antenna design engineer to fully exploit the rapid prototyping concept.