Window surround thoughts??

badger4543

Full time elf
Joined
Nov 7, 2019
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131
Location
S.E Melbourne
Hey guys today I found some spare time to start making some parts for my show..

I made this window suround out of some plastic 20mm angle stuff I found in bunnings(in the plastering section) I'm pretty keen to try keep my display as tidy as possible and keep most wires out of site so i pretty much made a 20x20 box out of two peices of angle so the wires can be hidden within the box, I used 4 lengths @ $3.42 and a heap of little 90degree brackets, I plan on painting them the same colour as the render for a further tidier look.
I do also plan to put a drop of hot glue on each pixel after paint. And the tape is just holding it together temporally once the inside and outside peices are painted they will be riveted together,

Just have a few quick questions

1) is there something out there that can do the same job with a less hassle of building the box tube? I spent abit of time in bunning but didnt stumble across any thing that would allow me to hide the wires inside like this.
2) not being water proof is there any steps you would take to try water proof the 2 sections of angle? Maybe some paintable sealer
3) would mount the box flush with the render or back hard on the window frame?
4) any other suggestions on how I should approach the next two I need to make,
 

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B4IGO

Apprentice elf
Joined
Dec 12, 2016
Messages
57
Location
Sydney
Nice job!

If you look in the electrical section you can get square trunking such as https://www.bunnings.com.au/deta-50-x-25mm-trunking_p4330853 in various sizes. Would that be more or less work, not sure... but it would be fairly weather proof and would provide easy access to the pixels should one go bad and you need to perform repairs...

Oh, and I wouldn't be too worried about trying to make it water proof (again remember there may be times when you have to pull it apart to replace a dead pixel). The pixels themselves are usually sealed with epoxy. Just make sure there is somewhere for the water to escape at the bottom so they don't fill with water.
 

badger4543

Full time elf
Joined
Nov 7, 2019
Messages
131
Location
S.E Melbourne
Ahh bummer I seen the smaller stuff similar but wasn't aware it went that big other wise i probably would have used it :(
 

scamper

Dedicated elf
Joined
Jan 5, 2014
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1,225
Location
collie
Not sure if the trunking does go big enough.
Do you really need the back cover? have you tried putting it up without to see if the wiring is noticeable? I do like the neat look, but it is a lot of work if you have a heap of windows.
As suggest, waterproofing is not all that important, just don't stretch the wires in the back of the pixels apart too much or you may crack the seal and create an entry point for water. Pixels do actually get pretty hot too, so air flow can help.
As far as how do you attach, well that is up to you. everyone has different ideas, but at the end of the day, it is your display and you are the only one that must be truly happy with it.
 

freddy

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Joined
Feb 16, 2013
Messages
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TUNGAMULL
Cool design idea. I like the idea that it hides the wiring. During the day it looks clean around the windows and as you said even better if painted to match :) . If you didn't put a back on it to allow for air flow (up here in Central Queensland it can get bloody hot) and you reversed your angle so as to still hide cables on centre of window, would look still as good but may reduce work to make. I'm definitely putting this in my memory bank...
 

freddy

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Feb 16, 2013
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TUNGAMULL
Cool design idea. I like the idea that it hides the wiring. During the day it looks clean around the windows and as you said even better if painted to match :) . If you didn't put a back on it to allow for air flow (up here in Central Queensland it can get bloody hot) and you reversed your angle so as to still hide cables on centre of window, would look still as good but may reduce work to make. I'm definitely putting this in my memory bank...
Oh forgot to say that that square trunking you can buy from any electrical wholesaler Google Aussie duct it's good stuff and relatively uv stabilised very robust and all angles and corners are available. Sizes vary from 16x16 to 50x50+
 

freddy

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Feb 16, 2013
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TUNGAMULL
Oh forgot to say that that square trunking you can buy from any electrical wholesaler Google Aussie duct it's good stuff and relatively uv stabilised very robust and all angles and corners are available. Sizes vary from 16x16 to 50x50+
There is also a few cheaper knock offs that are 5mtr lengths rather than 4mtr ones and they are still ok to use just a little thinner and bit more brittle over time
 

toddoak83

New elf
Joined
Nov 17, 2020
Messages
4
Out of interest, did you end up mounting the box flush with the render or back hard on the window frame? Also, how did you actually mount it? I've got 6x windows which look are exactly the same that I'm planning to do something similar with next year - any advice or tips that you learned from this would be appreciated!
 
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