Reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas and products thereof

Abstract

This invention provides a reliable welding method and product for 3D-printed antennas, belonging to the field of welding technology. The method specifically involves: surface treatment of the 3D-printed antenna using chemical nickel plating; then, resistance welding to solder the antenna body base to the connector probes, thereby achieving reliable welding of the 3D-printed antenna. The chemical nickel plating method not only gives the 3D-printed antenna conductivity and corrosion resistance, but also provides a uniform plating thickness, high hardness, and weldability. Resistance welding is then used to solder the antenna body base to the connector probes. The resistance heat generated by the current on the fixture and welding end face rapidly heats the welding end face and melts the solder, completing the soldering process. This method offers advantages such as smooth and bright solder joints, full feed waveguide solder joints, and the absence of pits, cracks, poor wetting, or other abnormalities.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of welding technology, and more specifically, relates to a reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas and the product thereof. Background Technology

[0002] Existing technology proposes using AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy to fabricate 3D-printed antennas, and then assembling a coaxial feed waveguide connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna body to create a vibrator antenna with feeding functionality. During the fabrication process, after the coaxial feed waveguide connector is assembled onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna body, it needs to be soldered to connect the connector probes to the base as a single unit. Considering the product's operating environment, this technology requires the use of high-temperature solder; however, due to the difficulty in soldering the aluminum alloy material of the antenna itself, existing soldering methods typically use soldering irons and laser soldering.

[0003] However, the connector probes have extremely small diameters. For this type of small-aperture soldering, even with auxiliary heating from a traditional soldering iron tip, it's difficult to rapidly heat the soldering end. The solder wire melts slowly, and voids easily form at the solder joint, posing a potential safety hazard. Simultaneously, small-aperture soldering must also meet electrical requirements. If the temperature is too low, the solder won't melt, and the connector won't connect to the metal body; if the temperature is too high, heat transfer from the metal body will damage the connector, failing to meet electrical requirements. The instantaneous temperature of a laser solder joint is approximately 650℃. Excessive heat conduction during soldering can cause irreversible thermal expansion of the connector's PVF (polytetrafluoroethylene) insulation, resulting in impedance mismatch. Therefore, the soldering method and parameter settings have a significant impact on antenna reliability and performance. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of the shortcomings of the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide a reliable welding method and product for 3D printed antennas, aiming to solve the problems that existing welding methods are not suitable for small aperture welding, and that welding is unreliable, inconsistent, and has uncontrollable errors.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, according to one aspect of the present invention, a reliable welding method for a 3D printed antenna is provided. The method specifically involves: performing surface treatment on the 3D printed antenna using chemical nickel plating, and then soldering the body base of the 3D printed antenna to the probe of the connector using resistance welding, thereby achieving reliable welding of the 3D printed antenna.

[0006] As a further preferred embodiment, the reliable welding method specifically includes the following steps:

[0007] S1 pre-processes the 3D printed antenna and then performs surface treatment using chemical nickel plating.

[0008] S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna and places solder at the connection point;

[0009] The S3 clamps the 3D-printed antenna and uses resistance welding to heat it and melt the solder, thereby welding the 3D-printed antenna body base to the connector probe.

[0010] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S1, the pretreatment sequentially includes grinding, polishing, degreasing, activation, descaling, and washing.

[0011] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S1, sodium hypophosphite or sodium borohydride is used as a reducing agent for electroless nickel plating.

[0012] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S3, before clamping the 3D printed antenna, the contact surface between the 3D printed antenna and the resistance welding fixture is protected.

[0013] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S3, a copper sheet is placed between the 3D printed antenna and the resistance welding fixture for protection.

[0014] As a further preferred embodiment, in step S4, the welding time during resistance welding is 40 to 45 seconds, and the welding current is 2.5A to 4.2A.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, a dipole antenna prepared using the above method is provided.

[0016] As a further preferred embodiment, the void area of ​​the welded portion in the vibrating antenna is less than 15% of the projected area.

[0017] As a further preferred embodiment, the maximum diameter of the pores in the vibrator antenna is less than 0.5δ, where δ is the diameter of the solder ball or solder hole where the pores are located.

[0018] In summary, the technical solutions conceived by this invention have the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0019] 1. This invention uses chemical nickel plating to treat the surface of 3D printed antennas, which not only makes the 3D printed antennas conductive and corrosion resistant, but also results in a uniform plating thickness, high hardness, and weldability. Then, resistance welding is used to solder the base of the 3D printed antenna to the probe of the connector. The resistance heat generated by the current in the fixture and the welding end face rapidly heats up the welding end face and melts the solder, thus completing the soldering. It has the advantages of smooth and bright solder joints, full solder joints of the feed waveguide, and no abnormalities such as pits, cracks, or poor wetting. The welded part meets the requirement that the void area is less than 15% of the projected area or the maximum diameter of the pore is less than 0.5δ. It is suitable for small-diameter welding, which can significantly reduce production costs and improve the reliability of the vibrator antenna.

[0020] 2. In particular, by optimizing the parameters in the resistance welding process, the present invention effectively controls the probe heat conduction temperature, which not only ensures that the solder joints are smooth and well wetted and the solder ends are firmly and reliably welded, but also ensures the electrical performance reliability of the connector, avoiding connector damage due to excessive temperature and failure to meet electrical requirements;

[0021] 3. In addition, the present invention also provides a vibratory antenna made by a reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas, wherein the welded part meets the requirement that the void area is less than 15% of the projected area or the maximum diameter of the pore is less than 0.5δ, thereby ensuring that the vibratory antenna has high reliability and has broad industrial application prospects. Attached Figure Description

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the welding end face of the body base of the 3D printed antenna provided in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a reliable welding process diagram of the 3D printed antenna provided in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0024] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of this invention clearer, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative and not intended to limit the invention.

[0025] like Figure 1 , 2 As shown, according to one aspect of the present invention, a reliable welding method for a 3D printed antenna is provided. Specifically, to solve the problem of unsolderability caused by the difficulty in tinning the aluminum alloy material of the 3D printed antenna, a chemical nickel plating method is used to treat the surface of the 3D printed antenna. Chemical nickel plating gives the surface of the 3D printed antenna conductivity and corrosion resistance, and its plating thickness is uniform, hard, and weldable. Then, a coaxial feed waveguide connector is assembled onto the body base of the 3D printed antenna. Resistance welding is used to solder the body base of the 3D printed antenna to the probes of the connector. The resistance heat generated by the current in the fixture and the welding end face rapidly heats the welding end face and melts the solder to complete the welding, thereby achieving reliable welding of the 3D printed antenna.

[0026] The welding method provided by this invention overcomes the shortcomings of existing soldering and laser welding, such as unreliability, poor consistency, and uncontrollable errors. In practical applications, the weld joints are smooth and bright, the weld joints of the feed waveguide are full, and there are no abnormalities such as pits, cracks, or poor wetting. The welded parts meet the requirements that the void area is less than 15% of the projected area or the maximum diameter of the pore is less than 0.5δ. It is suitable for small-aperture welding, which can significantly reduce production costs and improve the reliability of the manufactured dipole antenna.

[0027] Furthermore, the reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas provided by this invention specifically includes the following steps:

[0028] S1 performs pretreatment on 3D printed antennas, including grinding, polishing, degreasing, water washing, activation, water washing, dust removal and water washing, then performs surface treatment by chemical nickel plating, and finally performs water washing and drying.

[0029] S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D printed antenna and places solder at the connection point between the two, while simultaneously test-assembling the 3D printed antenna on a resistance welding fixture.

[0030] The S3 cuts copper sheets and places them on the contact surface between the 3D printed antenna and the resistance welding fixture to protect the 3D printed antenna. Then, it clamps the 3D printed antenna and centers the welding end face of the 3D printed antenna using the resistance welding fixture. The resistance welding setting is adjusted, and the body base of the 3D printed antenna is heated by resistance welding to melt the solder, thereby soldering it to the probes of the connector, thus completing the reliable welding of the 3D printed antenna.

[0031] Furthermore, in step S1, sodium hypophosphite or sodium borohydride is used as a reducing agent for electroless nickel plating.

[0032] Furthermore, by optimizing the welding parameters and controlling the probe's heat conduction temperature, we can ensure both smooth and well-wetted solder joints and strong and reliable welds at the solder ends, while also guaranteeing the electrical reliability of the connector. Specifically, the resistance welding process involves a welding time of 40 to 45 seconds and a welding current of 2.5A to 4.2A. This ensures welding quality while avoiding excessively long welding times or excessively high welding temperatures that could cause the 3D-printed antenna to heat up rapidly, resulting in irreversible expansion of the PTFE and subsequent changes in the characteristic impedance of the insulating medium, thus affecting the test performance of the 3D-printed antenna.

[0033] According to another aspect of the present invention, a dipole antenna prepared by the above method is provided, wherein the void area of ​​the welded part in the dipole antenna is less than 15% of the projected area or the maximum diameter of the pore is less than 0.5δ, where δ is the diameter of the weld ball or weld hole where the pore is located. It has the advantages of smooth and bright weld joints and full weld joints of the feed waveguide, and no abnormalities such as pits, cracks, or poor wetting.

[0034] The technical solution provided by the present invention will be further described below with reference to specific embodiments.

[0035] Example 1

[0036] S1 pre-processes the 3D printed antenna and then uses sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent to perform chemical nickel plating on its surface.

[0037] S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna and places solder at the connection point;

[0038] The S3 clamps the 3D-printed antenna and heats it using resistance welding to melt the solder. The welding time is 40 seconds, the welding current is 2.5A, and the welding voltage is 220V, thereby welding the 3D-printed antenna body base to the connector probe.

[0039] Example 2

[0040] S1 pre-processes the 3D printed antenna and then uses sodium hypophosphite as a reducing agent to perform chemical nickel plating on its surface.

[0041] S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna and places solder at the connection point;

[0042] The S3 clamps the 3D-printed antenna and heats it using resistance welding to melt the solder. The welding time is 45 seconds, the welding current is 3.0A, and the welding voltage is 220V, thereby welding the 3D-printed antenna body base to the connector probe.

[0043] Example 3

[0044] S1 pre-processes the 3D printed antenna and then uses sodium borohydride as a reducing agent to perform chemical nickel plating on its surface.

[0045] S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna and places solder at the connection point;

[0046] The S3 clamps the 3D-printed antenna and heats it using resistance welding to melt the solder. The welding time is 42 seconds, the welding current is 4.2A, and the welding voltage is 220V, thereby welding the 3D-printed antenna body base to the connector probe.

[0047] Those skilled in the art will readily understand that the above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas, characterized in that, The method specifically involves: performing surface treatment on the 3D printed antenna using chemical nickel plating, and then soldering the 3D printed antenna body base to the connector probes using resistance welding, thereby achieving reliable welding of the 3D printed antenna. The reliable welding method specifically includes the following steps: S1 pre-processes the 3D printed antenna and then performs surface treatment using chemical nickel plating. The 3D printed antenna is made of AlSi10Mg aluminum alloy. S2 assembles the connector onto the base of the 3D-printed antenna and places solder at the connection point; The S3 clamps the 3D printed antenna and heats it using resistance welding to melt the solder, thereby welding the base of the 3D printed antenna to the probe of the connector; the welding time during the resistance welding process is 40 to 45 seconds, and the welding current is 2.5A to 4.2A.

2. The reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, the pretreatment includes grinding, polishing, degreasing, activation, descaling and washing in sequence.

3. The reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step S1, sodium hypophosphite or sodium borohydride is used as a reducing agent for electroless nickel plating.

4. The reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas as described in claim 1, characterized in that, In step S3, before clamping the 3D printed antenna, the contact surface between the 3D printed antenna and the resistance welding fixture is protected.

5. The reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas as described in claim 4, characterized in that, In step S3, a copper sheet is placed between the 3D-printed antenna and the resistance welding fixture for protection.

6. A vibrator antenna prepared using the reliable welding method for 3D printed antennas as described in any one of claims 1 to 5.

7. The dipole antenna as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The void area of ​​the welded part in the dipole antenna is less than 15% of the projected area.

8. The dipole antenna as described in claim 6, characterized in that, The maximum diameter of the pores in the vibrator antenna is less than 0.5δ, where δ is the diameter of the solder ball or solder hole where the pore is located.

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