{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,11]],"date-time":"2026-04-11T06:09:27Z","timestamp":1775887767751,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"10","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]],"date-time":"2021-05-11T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1620691200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>With the rise of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and networks operating in the mmWave frequencies, a huge growth of connected sensors will be a reality, and high gain antennas will be desired to compensate for the propagation issues, and with low cost, characteristics inherent to metallic radiating structures. 3D printing technology is a possible solution in this way, as it can print an object with high precision at a reduced cost. This paper presents different methods to fabricate typical metal antennas using 3D printing technology. These techniques were applied as an example to pyramidal horn antennas designed for a central frequency of 28 GHz. Two techniques were used to metallize a structure that was printed with polylactic acid (PLA), one with copper tape and other with a conductive spray-paint. A third method consists of printing an antenna completely using a conductive filament. All prototypes combine good results with low production cost. The antenna printed with the conductive filament achieved a better gain than the other structures and showed a larger bandwidth. The analysis recognizes the vast potential of these 3D-printed structures for IoT applications, as an alternative to producing conventional commercial antennas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s21103321","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]],"date-time":"2021-05-11T22:53:40Z","timestamp":1620773620000},"page":"3321","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":36,"title":["The Use of 3D Printing Technology for Manufacturing Metal Antennas in the 5G\/IoT Context"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"21","author":[{"given":"Diogo","family":"Helena","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"given":"Am\u00e9lia","family":"Ramos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Electronics Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-4766-9110","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tiago","family":"Varum","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7907-1028","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jo\u00e3o N.","family":"Matos","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Instituto de Telecomunica\u00e7\u00f5es, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"},{"name":"Department of Electronics Telecommunications and Informatics, University of Aveiro, Campus Universit\u00e1rio de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,5,11]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3619","DOI":"10.1109\/ACCESS.2017.2779844","article-title":"A Survey on 5G Networks for the Internet of Things: Communication Technologies and Challenges","volume":"6","author":"Akpakwu","year":"2018","journal-title":"IEEE Access"},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"16","DOI":"10.1109\/JIOT.2019.2948888","article-title":"A Comprehensive Survey on Internet of Things (IoT) Toward 5G Wireless Systems","volume":"7","author":"Chettri","year":"2020","journal-title":"IEEE Internet Things J."},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1","DOI":"10.1155\/2016\/5974586","article-title":"5G: Vision and Requirements for Mobile Communication System towards Year 2020","volume":"2016","author":"Liu","year":"2016","journal-title":"Chin. 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