3D-Printed Plastic Parts Manufacturing for Obfuscating Sonar Signature Returns

In the manufacture of different goods, particularly those involving plastic structures, ensuring an appropriately calibrated acoustic performance is crucial. Plastic, due to its inherent properties, may not always deliver the optimal acoustic output, thus necessitating the need for technologies that can deliver suitable enhancements. Current solutions often involve treatments applied to the exterior of the structures, but these can often be inadequate or convolute the core characteristics of the material. These treatments might also compromise the structure's overall integrity and do not enable any customizable control over the structure's acoustic properties. Hence, existing methods fail to adequately address the nuanced complexities in modulating the acoustic properties of plastic structures.

Technology Description

The disclosed techniques involve the design of a plastic structure comprising an inner and outer wall with opposite edges respectively joined using an upper and lower wall member. This conjointly creates a wall cavity where an infill structure is added. Additionally, these plastic structures feature at least two holes that provide open access from the outside of the structure to the wall cavity. What sets this technology apart is the modifiable acoustic signature it introduces to these structures. By strategically placing the infill structure within the cavity and including designated holes to the structure's exterior, the resultant plastic structure can exhibit an altered, tailor-made sound characteristic when in application. This level of customization can accommodate an array of acoustic requirements across varied use-cases.