Guide to Producing Aluminum Reflector Prototypes
One of the most tasking prototypes to create for vehicle lighting system are aluminum reflectors. Luckily our experts at Creatingway are some of the most adept and can meet the needs of most optic designers. Vehicle production is one basic instance where we need small initial quantities for the approval process. Without a doubt, this vital demand poses a great challenge to creators of parts. When clients place orders for a few dozen pieces, they sometimes find it hard to respond. They thus opt to seek help from custom machining service providers such as Creatingway. Conventional standard tools are basically too costly and can’t sustain low-volume productions. Expert rapid prototyping companies like us are one of the fastest and can meet client demands easily.
When it comes to providing aluminum reflector prototypes, it is evident that they are an appearance part for headlamps. It does not play an optical role, but it does influence the lamp’s appearance. If you have a keen eye, you will notice that major car brands invest a lot towards producing charming headlights and taillights. The reflector that provides the reflective surface best highlights this feature. We mainly use aluminum reflectors in high-end automotive prototyping. This article will hopefully provide further insight into creating aluminum reflector prototypes.
Best Process to Create Aluminum Reflector Prototype
When producing auto parts, we offer an array of processing options to meet different needs. These include 3D printing, rapid tooling, CNC machining, and urethane vacuum casting. We often require good surface roughness that is lower than Ra 0.2micrometer with a mirror gloss. The usual SLA, SLS 3D printing, and other rapid prototyping methods can meet this surface quality needs. In addition, as a key optical part, we have to control the accuracy to within or below 0.05mm. Therefore, the best option for machining aluminum reflectors is CNC milling. Its main pro is that it embodies high precision machining and produces top-notch quality CNC milled parts.
However, owing to the complexity of the reflector structure, it is vital to use 5 axis CNC machining to complete the entire production process. Luckily, for some assembly structures on the backside, we can use other machining processes like EDM to clear the corners.
How To Choice The Appropriate Material For Your Project?
Generally speaking, we use aluminum in the prototype production of auto lighting parts. In specific terms, we use the aluminum alloys 2024, 5052, 6061, and 7075. For parts such as a heatsink, we can opt for Al-6061 as the machining material since it is easy to process. For headlamps and wings in the aircraft and auto sector, we opt for the AL 7075-T6. It offers a higher material hardness but takes up more processing time. Luckily, the most vital advantage is that the final surface can achieve mirror shininess.
What’s The Machining Process For the reflector prototype?
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CNC Milling
CNC milling involves the use of cutting tools to mill away layers of material from a workpiece. It differs from manual milling since the CAD and CAM program automates the entire process. This confers millimeter precision that enables the creation of top-notch aluminum parts. In creating an HDLP Reflector, we use a 5-axis CNC machine. The semi-finishing part of the process uses a cutting tool ranging between R3/R2/R0.5 and lasts for 30 hrs. Meanwhile, the finishing part of the process uses a cutting tool ranging between R0.3/R0.2/R0.15 and has a 25hr machining time. It lowers the whole labor cost since we only need one machine operator in the actual mass production of parts. Moreover, its multi-axis linkage enables the tool to move in 4 or more ways.
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EDM
Owing to the lamp’s complex structure, there many intricate details that make high precision 5-axis CNC inadequate for processing the entire part. CNC programmers, with rich experience in lamp creation, must first analyze the feasibility of machining them after getting the lamp design drawings. When it comes to reflectors, we put the vital optic surfaces through CNC milling. Meanwhile, the rear side has vital assembly structures that are tasking to the machine through CNC milling. This is since it will leave a big radius on the corners. Technicians thus have to first make copper electrodes. They then use EDM as an extra machining process to aid in clearing the corners. The part of production takes up a lot of time.
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Post Finish
This part comes up during the latter stages of prototype production. It covers deburring, polishing, plating, and other handmade post-finishing processes. They serve a critical role in aluminum reflector prototype creation as they determine its final appearance. Since we need to impart a mirror gloss to the reflector, there to methods that aid us in achieving this. One is manual polishing that is quite easy to perform though it does need some elbow grease to achieve mirror gloss. We take extra caution in manual polishing since we need to keep the sharp edges. In addition, the polish process may leave a radius on the edges. The second method is plating. Prior to plating, we must ensure there is a nice milling finish with no impurities. This method helps us achieve very bright and beautiful surface finishes. Simply contact us now if you have any inquiries or orders.
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