Producing a new CPC for Heliophone

In 2019, Heliophone is being upgraded.

The parabolic lens, which is the heart of the installation that focusses light into a tiny spot has been re-engineered and re-produced to optimise efficiency in light concentration. 
The original CPC was casted from aluminium in 2015. The surface accuracy was not consistent for our needs. This meant that the efficiency of the CPC was not up to par. 
We looked into alternative production methods that could give a more consistent result and also a more ecologic production method. We produced a new CPC with the a relative new technology called ISF (incremental sheet metal forming). The technology enables higher precision. It is a technique where a sheet is formed into the final workpiece by a series of small incremental deformations. The sheet was formed by a round tipped tool. The tool, which was attached to a robot arm, indents into the sheet by about 1 mm and follows a contour of the CPC part. It then indents further and draws the next contour for the part into the sheet and continues to do this until the full part is formed. After this the parts are cutted with a water jet cutter.