Bringing antenna ideas to life: The power of technical support
Antenna developers today have recourse to numerous simulation tools that help create, visualise, and optimise designs to meet increasing regulatory and performance demands. And just as antennas range in type, design, application areas, and complexity, so do the software frameworks available to designers. Some are general-purpose tools, ideal for generic antenna design; others are highly specialised, with narrowly defined application areas, such as building complex waveguide assemblies and feeds or designing antennas for advanced payloads.
Very often, technical support is also integral to the design process, equipping designers with the intricate knowledge of the software needed to bring ideas to life
But simulation software is only a part, albeit a critical one, of the overall puzzle. Very often, technical support is also integral to the design process, equipping designers with the intricate knowledge of the software needed to bring ideas to life, push new boundaries, and maximise workflow productivity. Provided, of course, they are fortunate enough to have access to a dedicated technical support team with the expertise to add tangible insight and value.
Taking ideas further
The case of University of Rennes researcher Giuseppe Dell’Aere is illustrative. While working on implementing a ring-focus antenna as a ground station for satellite communications, Dell’Aere needed to compare several design options. He and his colleagues could have soldiered on alone, relying on their own resources and knowledge of TICRA’s GRASP tool for analysing and optimising their reflector antenna designs. He could, for example, have continued to rely on the built-in wizard that comes with GRASP to generate preliminary designs to serve as starting points for more detailed analyses.
TICRA helped Dell’Aere and his colleagues to quickly configure simulations using specific radiation patterns for reception
Dell’Aere, however, wanted to see where else his ideas could go. Reaching out to the TICRA technical support team, not only did he gain insights on how to get more from GRASP, but TICRA helped Dell’Aere and his colleagues to quickly configure simulations using specific radiation patterns for reception, enabling them to analyse the electrical properties of the antenna in exceptional detail.
Technical support vs online forums
This experience was described by Dell’Aere as an “essential component for effective work processes”. A key factor behind such indispensability is the level of expertise TICRA’s technical support team brings to the table. Staffed exclusively by specialists with in-depth knowledge of the antenna design process and tools, they are on hand to help with everything from standard licensing questions to the most challenging antenna design and optimisation scenarios.
But there is another factor at play. Cecilia Cappellin, Head of the Applied Electromagnetics team at TICRA explains: “Some software packages use online forums and communities to provide technical support, where designers are invited to air ideas and topics and ask for feedback. This may provide some value but falls far short of the dependability and confidence needed to address complex design and analysis queries.”
Online forums just are not capable of fixing user-specific issues, much less push creative boundaries
“Online forums just are not capable of fixing user-specific issues, much less push creative boundaries,” continues Cappellin. “It is this targeted engagement that makes TICRA’s technical support service so valuable. Designers remain focused on their design challenges, while we keep the workflow as smooth and productive as possible.”
A powerful complement to powerful tools
A key benefit of dedicated technical support from the software creator is the certainty that reliable expertise is always there at a moment’s notice. While Dell’Aere, for example, quickly received GRASP-related assistance, his colleague was able to get prompt and on-point help to leverage the QUPES tool for designing and analysing periodic and quasi-periodic surfaces.
A key benefit of dedicated technical support from the software creator is the certainty that reliable expertise is always there at a moment’s notice
A fellow researcher at the University of Rennes, Tomas Thuroczy, was working on electrically large transmitarrays in a folded configuration at sub-THz frequencies. For the fast analysis of such large periodic structures – and to predict interactions between different periodic structures in the simulation domain – Thuroczy used the QUPES tool from TICRA.
TICRA’s support team helped Thuroczy to define the geometry, set up the simulation, extract initial simulation results, and perform comparisons with a code developed in-house. The support, says Thuroczy, was “excellent” and contributed significantly to an efficient design workflow. The sentiment is echoed by Dell’Aere who, when using QUPES to design and optimise a specific unit cell, approached TICRA technical support, who provided “immense help” navigating complexities such as multi-stacked layers and the presence of vias through the unit cell.
Nurturing ideas and maintaining productivity
Not all technical support requests involve geometry definitions or simulation set-ups. Sometimes users need help identifying and rectifying the problems that occur in virtually any research or design project.
For instance, Mathieu Riel and his colleagues of MDA Space in Canada were using ESTEAM, TICRA’s tool for solving electromagnetic scattering and radiation problems of a general nature. Riel and his colleagues were having meshing problems importing CAD files of a complex geometry which they wanted to use as a scatterer in a Method of Moments (MoM) simulation with ESTEAM.
The TICRA team quickly provided detailed explanations on how to rectify the issue
In what Riel describes as “excellent technical support”, the TICRA team quickly provided detailed explanations on how to rectify the issue. Riel and his team also received a working modified CAD file to help maintain their workflow. In addition, TICRA provided easy-to-follow recommendations on how best to import complex geometries through CAD files. These prompt measures, says Riel, helped his team “to quickly and efficiently solve” their issues, enabling them to maintain productivity in their design project.
Enabling greater efficiency and results
Helping designers push their creative envelopes, while simultaneously maintaining smooth workflows, is for Cecilia Cappellin the key outcome of the interaction between designers and technical support.
“Technical support is a synergistic relationship, a partnership,” she explains. “Users approach us with ideas and queries, and we respond with expert input and practical suggestions to help bring their designs to life. At the same time, they know we are here to keep their project timelines and workflows on track. Put simply, they gain the freedom to experiment, but in a secure environment.”
Users approach us with ideas and queries, and we respond with expert input and practical suggestions to help bring their designs to life
In an industry where budgets, timelines, and regulations are tightening, having such expertise and dedicated support at hand is an invaluable advantage to shorten timeframes and minimize disruptions.
Contact us today if you would like to explore how TICRA’s team can support your projects and success.