Greenhouse Shade Support Clips

thingiverse

I love my greenhouse, but it has one major issue - it catches the sun all day long and can become unbearably hot even with the door and both windows wide open during summer months. This problem is especially frustrating because of the aluminum frame that makes it difficult to fix. I have tried several solutions over time, with varying degrees of success. One idea I tried was using suction cups on the glass, which worked surprisingly well until they started to fall off when things heated up - what a bummer! After experimenting with different approaches, I finally came up with a semi-permanent solution that has been working beautifully for me so far. Here's how it works: I cut some green net shade material into strips slightly wider than the glass panes and threaded them onto net curtain wire attached to the apex of the roof. Another piece of net curtain wire was placed at the meeting point of the wall and the roof to hook the net in place. To add extra support and prevent sagging, I inserted some 15mm copper pipe into specially sewn pockets on the bottom of each strip. The copper pipes were capped at both ends and filled with lead flashing off-cuts for added weight. However, this solution still had one major flaw - it needed something to hold the strips closed and add more tension. That's when I remembered that my 3D printer was just sitting idle in the corner of my workshop. Using my 3D printer, I designed a two-part solution that consists of a stud with a "spigot" that can be pushed through the shade netting and a cover that snaps onto the spigot to hold the shade in place. The stud locks into the rail by twisting it in the same way as other items fit. I printed these parts using PLA, but I'm planning to reprint them in PETG if they eventually start to degrade from exposure to temperature and sunlight. So far, they seem to be holding up incredibly well under the rigors of outdoor conditions.