Molded plexiglas?

[nota]

why bent plexi it will distort the image
multi sided strait sheets will give a clearer view

[K.B.]

You can "glue" the straight pieces together with clear silicone caulk. Before you do though, polish them to be clear and it will look much better. You can cut the stuff with a regular table saw with the blade at a slight angle.

[RickM]

This may be your best starting point----> http://www.thomasnet.com/

[competentone]

Have you considered using polycarbonate sheeting?

It's expensive, but if you are trying to bend it to the curve I can see in the picture, you can simply stress it to match that curve and anchor it in place.

The polycarbonate would give really good protection too in the event someone tumbled into it, or if it's being moved around much and is at risk of damage from handling.

It can be somewhat less resistant to scratching than some of the acrylic plastics, but there are coated polycarbonates that do have decent scratch resistance.

You can probably custom order one large piece to fit the whole curve (from the picture, I'm guessing it will take more than one 4 x 8 sheet to fit that opening).

[island911]

search for 'drape formers/forming'

else, as comp sez, a thin sheet of PC could be cold formed.

[slodave]

I saw a website a while back that made custom fish tanks. They were able to form some type of plastic.

[bell]

Originally posted by K.B.
You can "glue" the straight pieces together with clear silicone caulk. Before you do though, polish them to be clear and it will look much better. You can cut the stuff with a regular table saw with the blade at a slight angle.

sylicon will not permanently adhere to plexi/acrylic.......and always be carefull cutting plexi on a table saw....
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewtopic.php?t=128055&highlight=table

i would check into who makes custom acrylic fish tanks for an accurately bent piece........

[deanp]

Try this place, no affiliation, web search using specific keywords...

House of Plastics Unlimited

[K.B.]

Originally posted by bell
sylicon will not permanently adhere to plexi/acrylic

Here is a picture of some speakers I made circa 1975 out of plexi, glued with silicone. At the time they were made the silicone tested to be much stronger than the available plexi glue in 1975. Perhaps plexiglass adhesion technology has improved since then. They have survived being moved to several apartments/houses /rooms over the years. I have changed drivers, crossovers, circuitry, etc many times as well over the years. The advantage of the design is the lack of standing wave patterns and low amount of visual room space they occupy. They were carefully cut on a circular saw with a compound angle.

Maybe silly cone doesn't last forever, but 30+ years is close enough for me.

KB

[slodave]

These guys are in Vegas, but maybe they can help find a local place.
http://acrylicaquariums.com/

Dave

[competentone]

Originally posted by procon
Thanks for the search suggestion, we're using 1/2" so cold forming isn't an option.

1/8 inch thick polycarbonate will be probably still be 20+ times stronger than most of your 1/2 inch thick acrylics. (I'm not sure what the actual strength-comparison numbers are, but polycarbonate simply blows away your acrylics -- it is literally hundreds of times stronger.)

And the curve you are talking about should make even 1/8 thick material rigid enough for your application.

If you don't find exactly what you are looking for in molding an acrylic sheet, I would suggest that you look into the polycarbonate.

For polycarbonate, do a seach on the brand name "Lexan."