Revolutionizing Millimeter Wave Silicon Solutions with 3D Printing and Ingeo™

Milliwave Silicon Solutions aims to promote the use of millimeter-wave (mmWave) technology across various markets by specializing in making equipment to measure signals from phased array radars, used in applications like autonomous vehicles and 5G. Their product, the MilliBox™, is a compact and modular mmWave radiation pattern test chamber that offers a cost-effective solution for various testing applications, including beamforming, antenna array performance, and compliance testing. The founders, Jean-Marc Laurent and Chinh Doan, were committed to creating an accurate, affordable, and environmentally friendly chamber, and found 3D printing to be crucial for constructing the MilliBox, enabling them to rapidly develop and optimize designs. They sought a more environmentally friendly filament that was easy to work with, precise, and capable of withstanding higher temperatures so they partnered with 3D-Fuel, a U.S. filament company, to meet their specific requirements. They discovered that 3D-Fuel offered Pro PLA filament, which is made with NatureWorks' Ingeo™ 3D870. This filament is not only derived from plants but also provides higher impact resistance and heat resistance at elevated temperatures when annealed. After conducting extensive temperature resistance tests with various filaments, Laurent found that the Ingeo™ 3D870-based product performed the best, especially at their critical threshold of 90ºC. It maintained the precision and printability that PLA is known for.

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