Rapid and Inexpensive Thermoforming Technology for Precision Radio Telescope Reflector Panels

射电望远镜使用大型碟形天线。阵列中的天线越多，就可以观察到空间分辨率更高的较暗物体。世界各地正在规划新的射电天文设施，需要大规模生产所需的菜肴。目前的制造方法缓慢且昂贵。该项目将开发一种快速、低成本的热成型工艺。这一过程使用可以改变形状的模具来弯曲金属板材。这种模具不需要昂贵的加工就能做出各种各样的形状。该项目还将开发一种红外3D扫描仪来测量每个面板的形状。这些技术的使用将带来许多好处，包括能够制造不对称的菜肴，以及降低菜肴的成本。该团队将为学生设计一台屋顶射电望远镜。它还将为其他教育机构的望远镜制作10个菜肴。这种碟子的分布每年将涉及数百名射电天文学的非科学家。该项目将开发一种使用热成型快速成形曲面金属板的工艺。初步试验表明，该方案是可行的。面板将被制造成适合研究望远镜的尺寸，并将调查输入设计的形状在制造中的实施情况。为了支持这项工作，将开发用于曲面金属板三维扫描的红外偏转测量技术。这将是优化制造业大规模生产流程的努力的一部分。开发的技术将用于为学生和公众宣传的屋顶射电望远镜。此外，还将制造10个与麻省理工学院的小型射电望远镜套件兼容的碟子，分发给教育机构。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Radio telescopes use large dish antennas. More antennas in an array allow fainter objects at higher spatial resolution to be observed. New radio astronomy facilities are being planned for locations around the world and there is need for mass-production manufacturing of the needed dishes. Current fabrication methods are slow and expensive. This project will develop a fast, low cost process called thermoforming. The process curves metal sheets using a mold that can change its shape. This mold can make a wide range of shapes without expensive machining. The project will also develop an infrared 3D scanner to measure the shape of each panel. The use of these technologies will bring many benefits including the ability to manufacture dishes that are not symmetrical and a reduction in the cost of dishes. The team will design a rooftop radio telescope for students. It will also make ten dishes for telescopes at other educational institutions. This distribution of dishes will involve hundreds of non-scientists in radio astronomy every year. This project will develop a process of quickly shaping curved metal panels using thermoforming. Preliminary tests show that this concept is feasible. Panels will be manufactured of a size suitable for research telescopes and an investigation of how well the input designed shapes are implemented in manufacturing will be made. In support of this work infrared deflectometry technology for 3D scanning of curved metal sheets will be developed. This will be part of efforts to optimize a mass-production process of manufacturing. The developed technology will be utilized in a rooftop radio telescope for students and public outreach. Further, ten additional dishes will be manufactured that are compatible with MIT’s Small Radio Telescope kit for distribution to educational institutions.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.