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CURRENT MECHANICAL FRAME DESIGN
The mechanical setup of the support structure for the RF source was designed taking into consideration volume, weight and rigidity constraints derived from the usable volume of the Ronin-MX gimbal, the drone's payload at an altitude of ~5200 meters (see References for more information), and the required stability of the alignment between the Metrology camera and polarizing grid.
The mechanical support structure was designed for 3D printing as a cost-effective way to ease and speed up the manufacture process while remaining able to quickly adapt to new technical requirements.
THERMAL EXPANSION SIMULATIONS
Thermal expansion simulations of the RF source's mechanical frame
The support frame was 3D printed in PLA plastic, which features low deformation, excellent printer bed adherence and widespread availability. Moreover, PLA's low thermal expansion coefficient ensures that temperature deltas in the order of tens of degrees do not produce larger uncertainties in the relative angle between the metrology camera and polarizing grid, the main absolute polarization angle reference.
Simulations have shown that the thermal expansion produced at a temperature of -10° C from a base temperature of 25° C (temperature delta of -35° C ) should produce angular uncertainties no higher than 0.022° in the relative angle between the camera and polarizer (see References for more information).
INTEGRATION AND TESTING
The integration of the RF source electronics within the mechanical structure has been carried out appropiately. The integration with the gimbal and drone has also been appropiate. The fully integrated design managed to stay within the gimbals' available volume and the drone's weight contraints.
Testing of the mechanical setup with the RF source emitting at a frequency of 141 GHz and the metrology camera recording video has been carried out successfully at the UC campus. More information on these tests can be found in the References section of this page.
FUTURE WORK
By using 3D printing we are able to adapt to future potential mechanical requirements (e.g. a more rigid mechanical structure or one less suceptible to thermal deformations) through the use of more advanced 3D printing filaments, such as ones reinforced with Carbon Fiber, Kevlar, Glass Fiber or Nylon. The incorporation of these advanced materials into the design is being continuously assessed as the technical considerations of the project evolve.
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