Back to Home

ATM Forum Message

Forums: Atm · Astrophotography · Blackholes · Blackholes2 · CCD · Celestron · Domes · Education
Eyepieces · Meade · Misc. · God and Science · SETI · Software · UFO · XEphem
RSS Button

Home | Discussion Forums | Amateur Telescope Making | Post
Login

Be the first pioneers to continue the Astronomy Discussions at our new Astronomy meeting place...
The Space and Astronomy Agora
Epoxy Mirrors

Forum List | Follow Ups | Post Message | Back to Thread Topics | In Response To
Posted by Robert May on December 7, 2003 21:53:46 UTC

Spin casting a mirror would be an extremely difficult job to do. The epoxy doesn't want to cure to the same size everywhere for a start and this means that you will have to surface the mirror afterwords.
Next is that while the epoxy is curing, you have to maintain an excellent control of the spinning, a lot better than you would suspect. Even slight variations of spinning, on the order of a truck driving by on the road outside will affect the surface.
Epoxy mirrors that are done in the industry for optical work are all replication mirrors - a mold is amde (convex parabola or other desired surface) and the epoxy is put on that. Getting a 1/10th wave surface is difficult to do with mirrors of that design although extreme care taken can get there.
Good luck as doing so is an exercise in frustration by all that have tried it.

Follow Ups:

    Login to Post
    Additional Information
    Google
     
    Web www.astronomy.net
    DayNightLine
    About Astronomy Net | Advertise on Astronomy Net | Contact & Comments | Privacy Policy
    Unless otherwise specified, web site content Copyright 1994-2024 John Huggins All Rights Reserved
    Forum posts are Copyright their authors as specified in the heading above the post.
    "dbHTML," "AstroGuide," "ASTRONOMY.NET" & "VA.NET"
    are trademarks of John Huggins