I printed up a couple of test objects to see how well a 3D printer could produce the substrate for a first-surface mirror. Just a couple cm long. Pretty good results, with some concerns.
- slump. There's a real danger that the mirror will sag while bing printed. Very bad given that I need soe degree of precision, especially if I'm building an array of small mirrors. I'll need to take preventative measures in mirror design (vertical support for the curved surface from the bottom up)
- the thickness of the layers affects surface smoothness and slump
Next task: mirroring. I've picked up some chrome paint. Chrome paint has a pretty poor reputation for actually producing an even shiny surface so we'll se how it goes.
