Pixel Strip Leaping Arches

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koolantz

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I knocked up 4 pixel arches out this weekend out of some spare 2812B strip I had.
Half a roll of strip per arch (2.5m or 75 Pixels), 2.6m of 20mm conduit and 38 cable ties per arch!
Drilled some holes near the ends of the conduit and used builders string to pull the ends together to make a "Bow".
Going to borrow an idea and use pieces of reo bar hammered into the ground to slot into the ends of the conduit to hold them up.

Some photos of the construction:
image1.JPG image2.JPG image3.JPG

A video of the result here:


View: https://vimeo.com/145766171
 
Hi
Was wanting to build arches, yours are great, but how did you get the leaping effect with the strips. Looks like one length of strip per arch. I have 12v 3528 led strip.
 
rjt65 said:
Hi
Was wanting to build arches, yours are great, but how did you get the leaping effect with the strips. Looks like one length of strip per arch. I have 12v 3528 led strip.
Click to expand...
This is because the arches are made with pixel strips. I don't know of any pixel strips that use the 3528 LEDs so it sounds as though you have strips that can't do this. You probably have single colour dumb strips which aren't pixels. You and I had a relevant discussion back in March and I can resend the messages if you haven't kept them.
 
Hi
I remember that conversation, still have it. Refers to needing a pixel driver or something like that.
Thanks for the reply
 
dale82 said:
Reo rods hammered into the ground works a treat. I did all my arches like that
Click to expand...
That's what I'm planning to do for mine, glad to know it works. I'm using 15mm PVC Pipe (found it easier to bend than 20mm), was thinking of having a 3rd longer piece of reo cable tied to middle of arch for support.


Is there a formula somewhere for how much to bend the pipe (I'm using 3m lengths) or just what feels best?


Do people put the pixel strips on the top of the pipe or the side facing out?
 
It is important to ensure you have a bit of a fold in the strip between each cable tie mount due to the uneven bend of the strip as strip is normally made for a straight line, you can notice in the video that this is what was done. So best to first bend the conduit before mounting the strip because if you bend it with the strip mounted then you run the risk of damaging the strip, The folds wont be noticed when the lights are running.

This is a very quick and easy way to make a very impactful element for your display
 
Did you use anything to soften the conduit to get a nice rounded shape ?. Tried making a couple today and just end up egg shaped....


Cheers
 
I just pulled the ends in on mine till it looked about right. I used 4m conduit with 3m of strip on the conduit so I had a bit with no lights on each end of the conduit. Mine are laid down on the roof though so I can overlap them to get rid of the gap.

Don't put a heat gun anywhere near electrical conduit. It goes really soft and bends. Tried to be lazy and fix a break in the strip without taking it off the conduit once. Lets just say one of my arches has a unique bend now.
 
BundyRoy said:
I just pulled the ends in on mine till it looked about right. I used 4m conduit with 3m of strip on the conduit so I had a bit with no lights on each end of the conduit. Mine are laid down on the roof though so I can overlap them to get rid of the gap.

Don't put a heat gun anywhere near electrical conduit. It goes really soft and bends. Tried to be lazy and fix a break in the strip without taking it off the conduit once. Lets just say one of my arches has a unique bend now.
Click to expand...

Cheers, I tried just pulling the conduit together but didn't look quite right. I'll have another go this week.

Made 3 small arches yesterday using the front wheel of my bike to get the shape....

b7cd0b240accaaab49868bff08bbe62c.jpg
 
I seem to remember (it's been a couple of years now) that I left the conduit longer to get a better curve shape. I think it was harder to get a decent curve with a shorter length.

The arch you made looks great. How did you get it to hold the shape when you removed the wheel.
 
BundyRoy said:
I seem to remember (it's been a couple of years now) that I left the conduit longer to get a better curve shape. I think it was harder to get a decent curve with a shorter length.

The arch you made looks great. How did you get it to hold the shape when you removed the wheel.
Click to expand...


G'day


I left the conduit cable tied to the wheel and filled with tap water a couple of times to cool off. Was 110cm length of 20mm conduit with 1m of strip.
 
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