Hanging Christmas Lights
This is my first Christmas in my house, and when I came to hanging Christmas lights I discovered that there are no existing hooks on the front wall. I didn’t want to start drilling more holes into the brickwork so I decided I’d use an adhesive to stick some hooks on.
This seemed like a perfect opportunity to use my 3D printer to design and make some clips.
The Idea
I wanted a clip that would stick to the wall with double sided tape, and would hold the wire of the lights securely. I envisioned a U-shaped clip and set about on trying out the first iteration, knowing I’d be able to modify the design and print another in a matter of minutes.
The Iterations
I used Tinkercad to create these designs in 10 minute coffee breaks throughout the day. It was my first time using Tinkercad (over other 3D modelling software), and it was perfect for the speed and simplicity this mini-project needed.
First
The first clip was to work out the approximate size needed, as well as the thickness. It was clear that this design was too big and I imagine a gust of wind could unhook the wire.
Second
I added a triangular clip to prevent the wire from slipping out. This worked well, but the shape / thickness of the clip made it far too stiff to easily slide the wire in.
Third
I added a circular loop at the base and make the clip thinner to lower the tension. This worked well and I was happy with this design.
Printing
It took a couple of hours to print all the clips, but there were no problems using my Ender 3 Pro to print a batch of 8 clips.
