I-Corps: Thermoforming Radio Dishes

Award ID: 1947130

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project includes building to efficiently manufacture high accuracy radio antennas. This would enable economical fabrication of ground stations to enable wider adoption of satellite communication and space defense. Shaped metal panels are used in several industries including automotive and aerospace. The rapid manufacturing process developed here uses significantly less energy than conventional sheet forming processes. If applied to other aerospace and automotive applications, it will potentially greatly reduce the energy consumption and cost of these manufacturing processes. The agile abilities of the adjustable mold allow for rapid conversion from a design to a physical product. This allows for lean innovation that is not encumbered by high tooling and non-recurring engineering costs. This I-Corps project further develops a new technology for manufacturing high-accuracy curved metal panels. These panels can be used for radio telescopes and communication dishes or automobile and aircraft bodies. The technology uses induction heating to quickly and efficiently bring a flat aluminum blank to high temperature. The induction coil presses the panel into an adjustable mold using electromotive force. The mold shape can then change quickly to form another panel of a different shape. Using an adjustable mold saves the cost of machining a high precision mold for each unique reflector segment. This enables the ideal, off-axis configuration for radio telescopes. The adjustable mold also allows for easy correction of springback and other systematic forming errors. It can also correct for mold wear and other effects inherent in high volume production. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman