Custom made street lighting bowls/cones

[jonny-m]

Anyone on here ever had a bowl or even a cone custom made. I know vacuum formers used to do some but I mean anyone ever gone somewhere and said I want this making. I have an idea for a post top but it’ll require a custom made cone and I don’t think there’s anywhere around my way that would even look at it never mind be able to make it.

[Slyspark]

I tried, but when they quoted me over £1K to make the mould and then over £100 per bowl I gave up!

[jonny-m]

Ha ha lol that’s a bit excessive like. I’m trying to make a 55w gamma 6 but same style as a normal gamma if you know what I mean so a normal gamma 6 cone isn’t long enough so I’ll need one custom making.

[FrontSideBus]

I bet if you make your own pattern it would be cheaper.

[Cobster]

I've made cones using PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) 1 and 2mm opal sheet before. It's easy to form at lower temperatures. That said it's best in opal if like me you have a taped or glued seam. New is on the left and the one on the right is the original repaired with line bent 3mm opal acrylc at the bottom.
Hope this helps give you some inspiration.

[Ash]

If there is an original bowl on hand i think it would be straightforward to make a concrete mould off it's exterior (or some other material, whats important that it won't contract and crak the original). Then PMMA can be vacuum formed in it

[jonny-m]

@electric this did cross my mind to make one out of flat sheet or even make a mould then see if someone can produce it from scratch.

@ash there isn’t an original to hand as what I’m doing thorn didn’t do so it’ll have to be made from scratch. Thorn did make a 55w gamma 6 but it basically uses a standard gamma 6 cone and base and has a deep modified canopy to fit the lamp in. I’m making one for 55w sox lamps but wanting the full lamp on view so it’s using standard base and canopy so bowl needs to be longer if you get what I mean.

[Ash]

Gotcha. What about finding a conical vase of similar dimensions and using that to make the mould off, or directly shrink a PMMA tube on the vase itself