Best material for Arches

[BigRedNole]

I am getting back into pixels from a decision to give up on house projection. I want to build modular archs that can be easily stored and put up. Several reasons for this: easy to store and get out, easy to setup, easy to repair/replace with a spare arch. I have looked at several US sites, videos, and others for the material they used. From a cost perspective, PEX appears to be the most bang for the buck (100ft is ~$80). I have seen people mentioning HDPE, LDPE, air seeder tubing, etc. For me, finding something I can purchase from Home Depot, Lowes, or Amazon. If there is something else I could consider, it would be helpful to know while I start designing props for next year.

Also, is LED strip the best to use for that neon glow type look? That is what I have seen in videos and it looks nicer than individual pixels I think.

 

[merryoncherry]

PEX is a good option in the US. The people talking about "air seeder" are generally not from the US. (PEX is not in the plumbing code in a lot of other countries, so they look at other options.)

All my arches say "SharkBite" if you look at the sides closely ;-) And they have strip inside, yes.

 

[CargoLights]

I have PEX arches. There are some concerns with them, like trying to get hem all the same curvature and avoiding twist in them. I am actually considering switching to coro arches, but those have a very different look than PEX.

While I have strip in my arches, I would use closely spaced seed pixels if I were starting over now. 15mm spaced seed pixels are actually more dense than strip, and I find the connections much less finicky. It's still difficult to solder such short wires, but I've had far fewer issues with them once they're done.

 

[Indigogyre]

Let me respond with a video.


View: https://youtu.be/A8XP0MVGiqA


He has a couple different videos on arches. I did prefer the look of strip in arches but they became a hassle. Wally's Lights now have premade strips for arches. They're not as easy to store as you might think.

 

[BigRedNole]

Let me respond with a video.


View: https://youtu.be/A8XP0MVGiqA


He has a couple different videos on arches. I did prefer the look of strip in arches but they became a hassle. Wally's Lights now have premade strips for arches. They're not as easy to store as you might think.

I have watched some of his videos and like the work. PixelParadise recommended some tubing, but it is $26 per arch without shipping. Pex is about $75 per 100ft. My Home Depot/Lows sell 10' sections of Pex B for $10 or a 100' roll for about $75.

 

[BigRedNole]

I just tested 1" Pex B with 60 Led/m strip and 2.5cm seed pixels. I cannot see much of a difference between the 2 for arches. The price difference for 120 seed pixels with XConnect and a similar length stip is about $18 each. Much easier and cost effective to go with the seed pixels. From a viewing distance of 10 feet, I don't think there is any difference. I will get a video up tomorrow showing the two.

 

[Juddge]

in australia it is called " Air Seeder Piping Translucent" it is normally purchased from Farming Suppliers, i have 32mm OD Version, i ordered 30M roll, and made 12 2.5M arches 1.5 m acrossa t the diamiter, with 2.5m total arch circumference
i got mine from
https://pointsdirect.com.au/product/airseeder-flexitube/ - this is the tubing i purchased
i used 12V LED Strip with 30 LED Per/M , and the seeder tubing makes it look clean and blended, without hot spots from each LED module
the video is them at 100% Brightness, they have since been turned down to about 70% so they dont blind people and look alot better

 

[BigRedNole]

in australia it is called " Air Seeder Piping Translucent" it is normally purchased from Farming Suppliers, i have 32mm OD Version, i ordered 30M roll, and made 12 2.5M arches 1.5 m acrossa t the diamiter, with 2.5m total arch circumference
i got mine from
https://pointsdirect.com.au/product/airseeder-flexitube/ - this is the tubing i purchased
i used 12V LED Strip with 30 LED Per/M , and the seeder tubing makes it look clean and blended, without hot spots from each LED module
the video is them at 100% Brightness, they have since been turned down to about 70% so they dont blind people and look alot better

It appears similar, but not the same is my understanding. The LED strip definitely had a more uniform look to it with the 60 led/m vs the 2.5cm spaced seed pixels. However, it didn't have a $15 per run visual improvement to me over the seed pixels. I could probably cut down on the cost per arch when I start making them, but I don't think it would be enough to justify the extra expense of LED strip I tested with (60 led/m, WS2815, IP68). If I went with fewer Led/m, less waterproofing, I might be able to get the price down a little. The seed pixels were ~$8/strand with Xconnects. The led strip is ~$25.