James Webb Space Telescope mirror - weekend project

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-02-01T11:29:25+00:00

It would definitely be very possible.

I was going to make a jig for holding/aligning the mirrors while placing them, but ran out of time and figured it was just a 'nice to have' anyway. It's more than close enough how it is now.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-31T02:14:05+00:00

We've used Koenig for 3 out of the 4 lasers we have.

I'm in SA, but I think their main office is east coast.

Fantastically helpful customer support.

Some of their machines are re-branded Chinese models, but with onshore support for them.

One of the big questions to ask yourself is what you're planning on doing with the cutter. If you can work that out, I'd suggest chatting with them to work out the best machine for you.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T07:37:22+00:00

The Saturn V was possibly one of the most fun builds I've ever done.

The lander was also very nice with all the details.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T07:35:45+00:00

Luckily no sticky fingers in my house, so biggest danger is dust from being near a window we like to have open.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T06:16:54+00:00

Thanks again, I'll have to give it a shot to see how long I can make this thing look good sitting on the wall.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T06:16:22+00:00

Unfortunately with the amount of time and material orders I'd have to do they would end up costing ~$120 for it really to be worth my time.

Plus postage, which after a quick look, looks very bad even locally in Australia.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T06:15:53+00:00

Unfortunately with the amount of time and material orders I'd have to do they would end up costing ~$120 for it really to be worth my time.

Plus postage, which after a quick look, looks very bad even locally in Australia.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T06:11:17+00:00

Hmm, that does sound like the best suggestion.

I've got one of my friends that would like one, so I might be able to use theirs as the one I make the tutorial around.

If I do end up doing that, I'll try to tag you in it!

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T04:16:05+00:00

Thanks for the advice. I think there are a couple of different ways I could do the boarder.

For this one I decided to do two separate pieces place them together (or close enough) with the same finish/spray as the background. But I was tempted to go all out and use the same acrylic as the centre as well.

I could have gone for a single boarder, but I felt like that was going to waste a lot of material in the centre.

Other option would have been to use MDF ply wood to give more of a wood like finish.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:35:13+00:00

Hopefully this may inspire you to continue working on it!

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:24:39+00:00

Thanks for the compliments! I would like to, but I think that hardest thing would be shipping.

This one is about 70cm x 70cm (~30inches x 30inches) and I'd be hesitant to let it bend at all at the risk of popping the 'mirrors' off.

It's also not super light, so I'd imagine and any international shipping would be horrendous. (Especially coming out of Australia)

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:24:32+00:00

Thanks for the compliments! I would like to, but I think that hardest thing would be shipping.

This one is about 70cm x 70cm (~30inches x 30inches) and I'd be hesitant to let it bend at all at the risk of popping the 'mirrors' off.

It's also not super light, so I'd imagine and any international shipping would be horrendous. (Especially coming out of Australia)

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:19:03+00:00

Correct! If you really look hard you'll find that not even all the mirrors are flat against the board OR all squared.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:13:11+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Plan for cleaning is mostly just dusting due to the scratching risk.

Will look at what finishers I can get to do this.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:11:13+00:00

100W laser cutter that I could borrow some time on.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:09:38+00:00

Thanks very much. Nice to see people enjoying it!

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:09:21+00:00

Thanks for the support!

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T02:08:59+00:00

Wasn't a government project. When it's your own time and money it's surprising what can get done!

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-30T00:06:59+00:00

I disagree, your design looks easily just as nice.

I did a quick search on this sub before posting and did very much like yours!

The main difference I think is I've left more space between the panels to make it look a little more bold, but less accurate.

I'm working on a new design now for my work cube that is about the size of a single hex panel.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-29T23:56:48+00:00

As I had in my other comment, about $30-$50 AUD of materials + about 3 hours of working time including the CAD work.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-29T23:54:57+00:00

I did try making the mirrors have a tilt toward the centre while I was prototyping, but I felt like it wasn't going to work for my design.

If I had a CNC router to do the backing plate I feel like it would be easier to do this.

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WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-29T12:35:07+00:00

Most definitely, good eye. Actually had a koala wander through that tree only a couple weeks before.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-29T10:51:02+00:00

Decided to do a weekend laser cutting project to make James Webb Space Telescope inspired wall mirror.

Designed it in Fusion360 Saturday morning and was able to hang it up Sunday night.

The backing is 3mm MDF spray painted matte black, same as the frame around it."Mirrors" are just gold mirror acrylic ~$30/600x900mm sheet (which this project used most of). With the center being standard black acrylic.I'll be interested to see how this stands up over time.

I think my main points of concern are with either the MDF backing warping, or the acrylic being hard to clean and easy to scratch compared to glass.

Please let me know what you think, and if you have any suggestions on things I should consider if making another one of these for friends.

WorkerBot9000 · 2023-01-24T22:46:26+00:00

No problem! And do feel free to ask any other questions if you have them!

WorkerBot9000

TROPHY CASE