bendy lamps !

[adsl1981]

Right im determined to figure this one out ! i have been thinking about it and i no longer would use a bendy metal like i was discussing in the other topic. Now i need to use the same sort of design as they use on thoise bendy lamps. Im wondering if anyone knows how exactly you make one which can take quite and bif of weight around 10KG and what materials to use ! ?

 

Thanks

[YT2095]

"bendy lamps"?

 

got a picture or something so we`re all considering the same thing here ?

[ecoli]

you mean lke this?

 

[adsl1981]

Hello

 

Yes thats what i mean

 

Cheers

[YT2095]

that`s tight wound gooseneck cable/trunking then.

forget it, you`ll never make that stuff in a month of sundays!

[Phi for All]

Start at the beginning and tell us what you're trying to do. Nothing in the bendy cable category is going to support that much weight. Chances are there is something out there already you can use that will be cheaper than trying to make it yourself.

[adsl1981]

Hello,

 

Well I want something that can take a lot of weight and can be bent into a position and will stay in that position until you move it again. And it will need to able continuously carry out this action. Any ideas? Its a little homemade thing I am doing: D !

 

 

Thanks

[Connor]

you could construct a rigid bodied device with six degrees of freedom, three sliding joints and three rotational joints. This would allow you to reach any orientation in the space it can reach.

[adsl1981]

yes but will it stay like that ? i do not think it will remember i want it to stay in the same place if i bent it against gravity aswell

[YT2095]

10kg over what distance from a secure/rigid base mounting?

[Connor]

I've seen devices like it before that are very sturdy... a lot sturdier than bendy lamps or anything like that.

 

It was very heavy and made of thick steel

[Phi for All]

For a homemade device, how about suspending it rather than supporting it? If your need for range of motion is not great you could attach a short 2x4 to the ceiling to pivot 360 degrees, then attach a simple pulley to the arm for vertical motion. Not as rigid as you may like but doable with inexpensive materials.

 

I have to say, it's a real PITA having to get little bits on info on what you would like to do. If you could describe exactly what you're attempting and why you want to attempt it we could probably think outside as well as inside the box.

[adsl1981]

hehe basically i want to support me new TV but i want it to look better and not have pieces of wood Its basically i think a 15kg TV and it needs to be about 1-1.5m's away from a stirdy fixing to the wall. It it could be on a weighted stand therefore would need to be like 2 metres away from the weighted stand.

 

Thanks

[Phi for All]

If you insist on a bendy floor mount I'm not sure you can do it. There are some great wall mounts with a great deal of range that can handle 3-4 times the load you've got. Try tray TV mounts or this place for some more. The second site has floor mounts but they didn't look very bendy.

[gcol]

I might be tempted to experiment with a plumbers pipe-bending spring. The spring goes in the pipe (copper) to provide a gradual curve or round bend with no kinks. Load bearing capability would depend on pipe characteristics.

Is that thinking inside the box?

[YT2095]

Hmmm... in that case I`de go for the same kind of mounts they use in Hospitals (the sort with the TV by each bed and the fone and stuff).

THEN I`de have a look around for Dryer piping, or Air Ducting in Silver of a sufficient diameter to surround this arm, the rest would be History

[Phi for All]

Its basically i think a 15kg TV and it needs to be about 1-1.5m's away from a stirdy fixing to the wall. It it could be on a weighted stand therefore would need to be like 2 metres away from the weighted stand.

Why bendy? Are you really needing to move it to different angles? Or is it because you want to move it out of the way when you're not watching?

[adsl1981]

just to it can move anywere with no restrictions becuase i have seats on funny angles to where the tvs going to be possitioned

 

so*

 

gcoal i like your idea but there is no metal as far as i know that you could bend that much continuosly without it snapping !

[adsl1981]

gcol* Sorry spelling mistake !

[Phi for All]

just to it can move anywere with no restrictions becuase i have seats on funny angles to where the tvs going to be possitioned

Did one of the wall-mounts from either of those sites I gave you spark any interest?

 

How many seats are you going to be sitting in? Can't the TV be positioned to face the ones you use most often? And how much will you need it to move if all the seats are filled? And if all the seats are filled isn't somebody going to end up with a side view no matter where you move the TV?

 

The wall mounts from the links are for motels and hospitals where multiple users will have multiple preferences. Chances are you're going to set up the TV and maybe need to move it once or twice in several months time. Are you sure it's worth it?

[5614]

If you supported with multiple fixings from the floor which all bend each individual one a smaller fraction of the weight than if there is only 1.

[adsl1981]

no they were not the sort if thing im looking for its only a plasma tv i got ! 42 inch i think

 

would it really be that hard to make a gooseneck design just would need a bigger spring becuase it would be taking more weight than a small dekstop light !

[Phi for All]

no they were not the sort if thing im looking for its only a plasma tv i got ! 42 inch i think

 

would it really be that hard to make a gooseneck design just would need a bigger spring becuase it would be taking more weight than a small dekstop light !

Anything you made with a gooseneck design might start out tight and springy, but would quickly become loose and floppy with that kind of wieght on it. Add the fact that there's nothing standard like this and you've just quadrupled your costs.

 

There are some standard floor mounts that will tilt, swivel and telescope up and down. Gooseneck-bendy will only add being able to acheive odd angles without moving the base. How often are you going to need that?

 

There have been times when I've come to realize that the elaborate measures I'm taking on a project are not worth the rewards. Perhaps if you could elaborate on why the standard mounts won't work for you we could figure a fix.

 

I swear, one of my clients has a Project Manager who's just like you. He gives me the bare bones of a problem and can't understand why I need more info to solve it. Every conversation with him is like pulling teeth.

[adsl1981]

you sure not even a gooseneck structure about 1-2 inches thick ! ?

[Phi for All]

For that much weight you'd need more like 8"-10". Remember, standard gooseneck cables are usually around 1/2" thick to support microphones and lamps that weigh half a kilo or less. And attaching that to a single point on your TV would create it's own stress problems. I doubt the TV casing is made tough enough to handle it.

 

You could try multiple thinner cables but now you're back to the aesthetic question. Twenty standard gooseneck cables would look kind of weird sprouting from the base of your TV and leading to a base.

 

And one more time, why do you need the ability to offset from the base? Wouldn't it be much easier and cheaper to get one of the standard floor stands which tilt, swivel and telescope and just move the whole thing on the rare occasions when it's range of motion wasn't sufficient?