Simplistic Magnetic LED Controller Holder

Nowadays RGB LED strips & lights are everywhere. Gaming setups, living rooms, kitchens, bedrooms.. You name it.

If you are anything like me, you've been in a situation where the controller is lost more than once. You just put it somewhere on the table.. Until it's not there anymore. If only there was a seamless way to place it somewhere being sure you will find it later when you need it..

That's how I came up with the magnetic LED controller holder. The design is very modern and simplistic; Not only does it hold the controller, it does so in style without drawing too much attention to itself.

The holder utilizes magnets (or actually a single magnet) in two ways:

• Holding the LED controller conveniently in place
• Holding the holder itself in place allowing you to move it anywhere whenever you want

Doesn't that sound nice? Let's get into it!

This project is simple and requires relatively few supplies. You only need:

• Access to a 3D printer. This design is created with a 3D printer. Printing it only takes about an hour and around 12 grams of filament. Required print volume is at least 59 x 13 x 35 mm (width x depth x height).
• A magnet. The stronger the better! In the design, I used a generic magnet (13.2 x 5 x 23 mm) I had on hand. However, you can use any other 5mm thick magnet by making a simple tweak to the design. More on that later.
• A LED controller. This is quite obvious. I used a standard controller, which I measured to be 52 mm (approx. 2.05 in) wide. The height of the controller does not matter, as the holder does not have a bottom or a top (possibly allowing you to use taller controllers, too!) The controller's back also does not have to be metallic. On most controllers, the back is relatively thin plastic, allowing the magnet to grasp onto the small battery inside. You should make sure the magnet sticks to the back of the controller before continuing.

The magnet used in my design is 13.2 mm wide, 5 mm thick and 23 mm tall (or approx. 0.52 x 0.2 x 0.9 in).

However, you can easily tweak the design to fit a different-sized magnet.

If your magnet is the same size:

You can simply download the STL file labelled as "DefaultMagnet_LEDControllerHolder.stl" and continue to the next step.

If your magnet is not the same size:

• Find a magnet that's preferably 5 mm (0.2 in) thick.
• Download the STL file labelled as "NoMagnet_LEDControllerHolder.stl".
• Measure your magnet. You need the exact measurements of the magnet you are using. A pair of calipers can be handy here.
• Import the file into your preferred CAD software. In this example I am using TinkerCAD (even though I designed the holder with Fusion360) to make this as easy and accessible as possible.
• Create a hole the same size as your magnet. Make sure to get the tolerance right. Add a little (0.2 mm) extra to all sides of the magnet (but preserve the 5mm thickness) to make sure you can fit it in. For this example, I created a square magnet that's 20 x 20 mm and 5 mm thick. In TinkerCAD, I created a box, selected "Hole", positioned it to be 5 mm deep inside the main body from the back in the center and grouped the two objects.
• Export your new design as STL and download it.

As mentioned above, this project utilizes a 3D printer to print the main frame for the holder. I printed it with my Kingroon KP3S Pro, but you can use any 3D printer with a build volume larger than 59 x 13 x 35 mm or 2.32 x 0.51 x 1.38 in (width x depth x height). That means you should be able to print this model with practically any 3D printer.

Recommended print settings

For this project, I used black PETG. However, as this model does not require much strength, you can use any hard plastic. However, be careful with the thin plastic part hiding the magnet in the center. It can be quite brittle, especially with PLA!

I used a 0.4mm nozzle, 0.2mm layer height and printed with 30% infill (you can get away with less). No supports required. You can use brim if you have trouble with bed adhesion.

You should position the model standing upright (like in the image).

The design should allow the magnet to be simply pushed in. Use the required force, but be careful to not break the thin plastic that covers the magnet! If the magnet seems too loose to stay in place, you can use a little bit of glue, but it wasn't required for me.

Once the magnet is in place, your new LED controller holder is ready to use!

You can attach the holder to any magnetic surface. Your fridge, your table leg, your microphone arm.. Anything!

How strongly the controller stays in place depends on the strength of the magnet used. Neodymium magnets work the best, of course, and even a smaller one should be plenty. However, here I used an old, regular leftover magnet, which worked fine, too.

If you are creative, you can also try attaching other stuff to the holder. Feel free to share your experiences in the comments!