Light Box Lens

At Classic Acrylics, Inc., we fabricated the white acrylic light box lens highlighted here as a temporary replacement for a thermoformed lens.

Opportunity

The cosmetics department of a Target store was awaiting delivery of entirely new lighting fixtures when several of the existing light box lenses broke. Since the lighting fixtures currently installed in the cosmetics area were obsolete, the vacuum tooling for the original lenses no longer existed. The company needed a substitute product, and they needed it quickly.

Solution

Our engineering department reverse engineered a sample lens and created CAD drawing that replicated the original design. Production involved CNC machining and then using a custom built cold forming tool to bend the acrylic in a gradual arc without affecting the integrity of the material. Assembly consisted of solvent welding, and we used a process called flame polishing to create a high luster along the edges that allowed light to exit. When completed, the light box lens measured 12.0″ wide x 48.0″ long. We measured tolerances at critical in-process checkpoints and performed a final inspection to confirm its dimensional accuracy.

Results

We shipped the replacement light box lens within two weeks. Since our fabricated version was a very close copy of the originally thermoformed product, it performed admirably as a substitute. We supplied a small quantity, and with the cold form tool already in place, reorders were quickly fulfilled. Our solution allowed Target to maintain the look of their cosmetics display until the new fixtures arrived.