[TriEmbed] Anyone know a good way to get access to a vacuum forming machine?

Charles West charlesryanwest at gmail.com
Tue Dec 20 20:30:47 CST 2022


Hello!

I'm kinda all over the place project wise (apologies Paul), but one of the
things I am working on right now is a Phase 1 STTR grant from NASA for a
new solar sail material.

As part of that, I'm trying to figure out the barriers to implementing a
new solar sail design called a "space tow".  It's composed of a bunch of
little solar sails all strung together like sled dogs to pull on something.

As part of that, I am trying to see whether it's possible to form
corrugations in a thin plastic sheet (1-5 microns thick) so that it has
some rigidity and won't need reinforcement to stay planar.

As part of that, I would like to try vacuum forming one of the sheets and
see if that can produce the desired change in shape.

... as part of that, I need to find, make or buy a vacuum forming machine
and give it a go.

TL;DR:
Does anyone know where I could find a vacuum forming machine that I could
use or about their experience homebrewing one?

Thanks,
Charlie
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