Bending curves in mirrored acrylic sheet

#1

Hi

So I’m wanting to permanently curve some large (person height) pieces of mirrored acrylic sheet, probably 3mm, and the issue is controlling the heat enough that the mirrored effect doesn’t get damaged (doing little tests, it can get misted and lose its reflectivity).

I have heard that a ‘line heater’ is how this would be done commercially.
Does anyone know if it is possible to get access to one? Or another way of achieving same? Has anyone tried to do this themselves?

It’s possible to pay to have this done but it is disproportionately expensive compared to the cost of raw materials, probably because there is either a failure rate or to recoup investment in kit.

Thoughts anyone? Is it something that anyone fancies helping me try at the Makerspace?

Open to all thoughts
Cheers
Rachel

#2

Hi - I once built a styrofoam cutter which is basically a heated tensed wire. Basically once the wire is tensed you connect each end of a power supply to each end of the wire and it will heat - I used nichrome wire. There is an adjustable power supply at the space so you could use it to control the temperature. Also, a bending jig would be useful. Anyway, I am in on Wednesday 1st hosting the open evening and can show you how the heating bit works, if you are around. Cheerio

#3

I’ve done a bit of this before - the key here is that heating can change the structure of the acrylic and you end up with the misting you’ve observed (I don’t think I’ve ever managed to bend the stuff without any visual change, but careful control of the heating would probably minimise it). Doing it over a 5-6 foot length with accuracy would be challenging without industrial kit.

Did you want to put a curve in or an angle (e.g. just having a 90 degree bend at the edge)? If it were me I might consider alternative routes of manufacture to try and get the same aesthetic effect… Is this for something like an upright mirror?