This paper presents a novel mechanically beam-steered antenna system for 10 GHz applications, enabled by multi-material 3D-printing technology. The proposed design eliminates the need for complex electronic circuitry by integrating a mechanically rotatable, 3D-printed hemispherical lens with a conventional rectangular patch antenna. The system comprises three main components: a 10-GHz patch antenna, a precision-fabricated hemispherical dielectric lens produced via stereolithography (SLA), and a structurally robust rotation assembly fabricated using fused deposition modeling (FDM). The mechanical rotation of the lens enables discrete beam-steering from −45° to +45° in 5° steps. Experimental results demonstrate a gain improvement from 6.21 dBi (standalone patch) to 10.47 dBi with the integrated lens, with minimal degradation across steering angles (down to 9.59 dBi). Simulations and measurements show strong agreement, with the complete system achieving 94% accuracy in beam direction. This work confirms the feasibility of integrating additive manufacturing with passive beam-steering structures to deliver a low-cost, scalable, and high-performance alternative to electronically scanned arrays. Moreover, the design is readily adaptable for motorized actuation and closed-loop control via embedded systems, enabling future development of real-time, programmable beam-steering platforms.
Sangpet et al. (Wed,) studied this question.