1" Pex Pixel Strip Holder

thingiverse

Human: Arches make stunning visual elements in animated Christmas light shows, and this pixel strip holder secures your pixel strips firmly against the bottom of 1" Pex tubing, eliminating hot spots completely. Before building the arches, calculate carefully to ensure a true edge-to-edge light effect on your displays. To achieve this, you'll want the pixel strips to reach all the way to the end of the tubing - being slightly short is acceptable. Once you've determined the length of the tubing and the pixel strips, predrill and tap the ends of each arch for an 8/32 nylon machine screw. Drill a hole on the top, upward-facing side of the arch about 1/2" from each end. Then feed your pixel strip inside the arch, placing one pixel strip holder over the strip on one side. Next, slide a 4" zip tie through the hole in the strip holder and push the holder and the strip simultaneously about 2-3" deep into the arch. (Note: the zip tie is only used to pull the holder towards the end of the arch and is later removed, so there's no need to secure it.) On the opposite side of the arch, pull just enough of the pixel strip out to slide a pixel strip holder over the strip and then push back until flush with the end of the arch. When flush with the edge of the arch, secure a nylon machine screw through the premade hole and tighten just enough for a snug fit. The nylon screw should apply pressure to the center of the mount on the flat side to securely hold it in place. Now that one end of the pixel strip is firmly held in place, grab the zip tie from the opposite side and pull along with the strip. Once satisfied with the position and tension, secure it in the same manner as the first side and discard the zip tie. When complete, clip off any protruding pieces of nylon screws on the outside of the Pex and secure them into your base mounts. If you ever need to remove the strip holders, they come apart easily by drilling out the nylon screw with a small drill bit.