DIY Lumenarc Kits

i disagree look at commercial reflectors, like the ones 3m sells..there white, just our fish tanks go silver I have to believe 3m does alot more testing with good equipment. 2 points here one if hammered metal is that much better then the standard luminarc then this makes for a problem since hammered is diffusing light everywhere instead of reflecting. but to settle this I will call 3m on monday and see what they have to say. if you want to build a cheap reflector with crappy aluminium and put one of the MOST reflective surfaces on it then you could just use 3m's coast guard tape located here http://www.identi-tape.com/solas.html to build 4 reflectors and add the tape it would cast arounf $30 a reflector. they have 2 types of surfaces flat and grid, the grid will give more of a diffuse angle to the deflection which i think would be more like the hammertone of the newer luminarcs. i will call monday and see what i can find out though
jeff
 
We have almost one hundred 1000 watt lights in our shop. All are polished aluminum inside. Walmart, HD, and Lowes lights are all polished aluminum reflectors.
PAR numbers on the hammertone metal reflectors are higher than the flat polished metal reflectors.
 
funny how long this has gone but i do have nothing against polish reflectors I'mjust stating what i learned in astronomy when we did some reasearch in reflectors hopefully 3m can shed some light onto the question. the lowes and home depot light i don't think you can count them since there cheesy plastic metal paint reflectors. I was talking about the huge reflectors they build for outdoor use in the minning industry
jeff
 
here are mine I made over a year ago with another local reefer. We got the hammertone with free shipping HERE . Cost about $25 a reflector and are simply amazing.

Construction paper Templates, yup looks good to go.
68jc9.jpg


Using my metal break to bend and cut the sheets (huge time saver)

70sj5.jpg



The cut peices.
69uj5.jpg


Finished Product!
71ad3.jpg
 
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I have the pieces ready to go to build 3 of them (with extras to 'practice' with). I know what I NEED to do but was wondering the best way to go about it.

First, I need to bend the tabs but I want them to be nice crisp lines. I am going to go to Harbor Freight tomorrow and see what kind of hand tools they have but is there a way to do it and get better results without a brake?

My second question has to do with drilling and riveting. I saw the rivet gun at Lowes for $19.00 so that's no big deal but I need to know the actual process. Do you drill before you bend? If so, how do you make sure everything lines up? If you bend before you drill, how do you hold everything tight while you drill through both pieces?

I have read all of the DIY threads but they all seem to skip the bending, drilling, and riveting part. Any suggestions?

Here is the material I am using:

reflector.png
 
well i am still waiting to hear back from 3m but talking to them last week they said that the white would asorb some of the spectrum that we are tying to get into the tank, he was going to the check on what spectrum isn't reflected so well and let me know when he gets the data. He also said that certain whites are just as reflective though when you are talking about visiable spectrum
jeff
 
PNEUMATIC just assemble tape them together with masking tape and drill, i found it easier to drill the outer layer first before taping together that way you only have to drill the inside metal when its taped..goes alot faster..remeber your corner bends will 45 degrees and the slope bends will be 33 degrees...use a protractor
jeff
 
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I want to build one too pneumatic. Lets get the group build going for our club. I am sure others would be interested
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14522252#post14522252 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Drake1
PNEUMATIC just assemble tape them together with masking tape and drill, i found it easier to drill the outer layer first before taping together that way you only have to drill the inside metal when its taped..goes alot faster..remeber your corner bends will 45 degrees and the slope bends will be 33 degrees...use a protractor
jeff
Click to expand...

That's the tip I needed on the drilling part. Drilling the corners first will definitely make the whole thing easier. Thanks! :)

The corner bends are 45 degrees??? I would have assumed they would be 22.5 degrees since there are two of them to make the turn. I guess having the EXACT angle isn't as important as getting it close and having a nice crisp line to work with. They could be bent slightly in or out as needed.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14522062#post14522062 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Drake1
well i am still waiting to hear back from 3m but talking to them last week they said that the white would asorb some of the spectrum that we are tying to get into the tank, he was going to the check on what spectrum isn't reflected so well and let me know when he gets the data. He also said that certain whites are just as reflective though when you are talking about visiable spectrum
jeff
Click to expand...


This is very interesting, thanks!
 
I just got done building one of these out of A piece of heating duct trunkline. polished the metal looks great cost 7$ this was A great idea and easy to. going to build A few more.
 
does anyone have the cad file for the Lumen Bright reflectors?

i just sold my lumenarc mini DIy and want to make these for my tank
 
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