SBIR Phase II: A Flexible and Efficient Manufacturing System for Radio Antenna Reflectors

SBIR 第二阶段：灵活高效的无线电天线反射器制造系统

• 批准号: 2213128
• 负责人: Jackson Wood
• 金额: $ 100万
• 依托单位: PARAMIUM TECHNOLOGIES LLC
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Cooperative Agreement
• 财政年份: 2022
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2022-12-01 至 2024-11-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2213128&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: SBIR; Phase; II; Flexible; Efficient

The broader impact of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to provide faster internet speeds to remote locations. This goal will be accomplished through the delivery of custom-shaped reflector panels for satellite communication antennas. Currently, there is a significant unmet need in the market for rapid turnaround, relatively low quantity, and affordable curved metal panels with complex, high precision shapes. The manufacturing technology developed in this project may enable economical antenna design and allow for asymmetric panel shapes. The expected advancement in panel fabrication techniques may increase the efficiency of satellite communication by enabling more complex and tailored designs for individual applications. Expanded satellite communication allows for more internet access in underserved communities around the world. The new manufacturing technology may also benefit radio astronomy, with some estimates showing a 70% reduction in dish reflector costs for some large near-term projects. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project seeks to develop a new technology to make satellite dish panels. This innovation may reduce cost and allow radio antenna producers to optimize their designs for faster data throughput. To meet modern communication needs, application-specific, precision manufactured reflector panels are needed. Historic manufacturing techniques have long lead times and high material costs. This project builds on past efforts and demonstrations to integrate innovative inspection methods and new manufacturing techniques into an automatic workstation capable of fabricating 1-meter squared scale reflector panels. Test panels will be built to evaluate system performance against key performance indicators, including panel shape accuracy and time to shape and inspect panels. This new approach may produce panels up to 11 times faster than some traditional methods without compromising shape accuracy.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.

这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛影响是为远程位置提供更快的互联网速度。该目标将通过为卫星通信天线提供定制的反射板来实现。 目前，市场上有很大的未满足需求，即具有复杂，高精度形状的快速周转，相对较低的弯曲金属面板。 该项目中开发的制造技术可以实现经济的天线设计，并允许不对称的面板形状。 面板制造技术的预期进步可能会通过为单个应用实现更复杂和量身定制的设计来提高卫星通信的效率。 扩展的卫星通信允许在全球服务不足的社区中获得更多的互联网访问。 新的制造技术也可能使射电射线天文学受益，一些估计显示一些大型近期项目的盘式反射剂成本降低了70％。 这项小型企业创新研究（SBIR）II阶段项目旨在开发一种新技术来制作卫星盘式面板。这项创新可能会降低成本，并使无线电天线生产商可以优化其设计，以更快地数据吞吐量。 为了满足现代沟通需求，需要特定于应用的精确制造反射板。 历史制造技术的交货时间很长，材料成本很高。 该项目以过去的努力和演示为基础，以将创新的检查方法和新的制造技术整合到能够制造1米平方比例反射板面板的自动工作站中。 将建立测试面板以评估系统性能针对关键性能指标，包括面板形状的准确性以及塑造和检查面板的时间。 这种新方法可能会比某些传统方法快11倍，而不会损害形状准确性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并且使用基金会的知识分子优点和更广泛的影响审查标准，被认为值得通过评估来获得支持。