Being a leader within the field of antenna development and manufacturing, AC Antennas redesigned all antennas in the product portfolio and, at the beginning of 2015, the state-of-the-art crimp technology was introduced into the passive antenna manufacturing processes for mass production. Since then, hundreds of thousands superior quality antennas are produced via our fine tolerance crimping machines.

The traditional soldering method requires heating of the assembling parts. The soldering process leaves an increased risk of material corrosion and cold-soldered joints. Less material flexibility will occur since the solder alloy trickles thus hardening the nearby material which is then left more vulnerable towards vibrations. Furthermore, the solder quality can be challenging to check since the solder surface may look perfect, but the real joint spot can be compromised if the materials were too cold upon soldering. 

The crimping machine offers a uniform and accurate pressure when assembling two parts. The outcome is a gas-tight joint. The crimping supremacy prevents oxygen and moisture reaching the joint material and reduces corrosion risk accordingly. Subsequently, the crimping technology exceeds the traditional soldering technology by far.

The major benefits moving from conventional soldering technology to crimping technology are:

• Conformity in assembly quality in both low and large-scale production
• Improved VSWR due to tighter tolerances and better alignment
• 4-5 times superior mechanical build-up compared to conventional soldering technology

Crimp production at AC Antennas facility in Copenhagen factory

The crimping process calls for two parts aligned and positioned so one component surrounds the other component. The crimp tool mechanically compresses and reshapes the crimping assembly point until the two parts form a gas-tight joint – without use of any solder alloy. Mechanically, the crimped materials are now highly resistant to thermal shocks and vibrations thus adding to the superior build-up. The result gives electrically a very low VSWR ratio and mechanically the strongest possible antenna.

The crimped antennas were temperature and vibration tested by the independent external test institute DELTA. DELTA is accredited by DANAK, the Danish Accreditation and Metrology Fund, to carry out, among other things, EMC and environmental tests in respect of a wide range of standards. DELTA’s conclusion of the temperature and vibrations tests is available here:

Read the DELTA test report here > 

In short, it was verified that the antennas meet the standards of

• IEC 60068-2-6:2007   Vibration - Resonance search
• IEC 60068-2-53:2014   Vibration - Combined cold / vibration

Both electrical tests and mechanical tests conclude unanimous that a crimped product is superior to a soldered one.