Lighting system for photo studio

With an upgraded photobooth you need some way of lighting it. So, I created this pipe and connector setup to help mount and hold the lights in place. It is a very similar system to my photo studio (check it out!), utilising the same bolts and scaled to fit the same sized 16mm OD PVC pipe. 

The pipe connector

As mentioned, this is designed to fit a 16mm OD pipe or tubing. You can of course scale it to fit your pipe, but remember to scale the corresponding bolts too!  You will need the horizontal and vertical part, which are attached together with a bolt. A variety of angles are possible between the two parts, how nice!

This was also designed to fit to a cheap light stand I picked up from AliExpress, which was conveniently the same diameter. Unfortunately if your pipe and stand are not the same diameter, you may need to use a spacer on the smaller pipe as the two connectors kinda need to be the same size.

I also have identified that the bolt that connects the two parts to be a weak link. There is a lot of Moment that acts on this bolt, due to the weight on the supported pipes, which can lead to shearing. I will look to create a bolt that accepts a metal rod or M3 bolt along its thread to increase its strength in the near future. In the meantime I recommend upping the wall count on the bolts to a big number in your slicer.

The light connector

Unfortunately for those outside of Imperial Measurement Countries, most camera and light mounts use a ½"-20 UNC bolts. However after a quick search on ebay, I found me a supplier in Germany. The light connectors are designed fit and hold the bolts (with a standard hex head), that then allows you to screw on any sort of traditional tripod mounted light. Of course if you change the scaling of the parts here, it will have an adverse effect on how well the ½"-20 bolts will fit.

I have also included a little sleeve to slip over the corresponding nuts to help with tightening and locking the lights in position. 

As a little extra treat, for whoever may find it useful, I have also included a tripod mount adapter for some LED strip lights that I happen to have. I have no idea how common they are, but lucky you if you have one and need a mounting adapter!

Let me know if you have any problems, and I cant wait to see what you guys make!

Cheers!

3db.creation