Tuesday 24 April 2012

Wrap up

I hope my thirst for novelty got quenched for a while - I still feel the itching to build something fantastic, yet I'm more than happy that I mastered some structures which posed lots of challenges. What started off with revisiting the x-module, and having some tetrahedral galore, ended with a four tensul (3 strut prism)  multi-coloured tetra with non-elastic string which balances in 20 constellation (four corners, four faces, six edges in two constellations).

Vier gewinnt (12 struts, outlining an tetrahedron)
Although I like the visual effect by using different colours, when I tried to make a digital 3d model out of the structure, the optical continuity of same coloured struts overwhelmed the software, and led to very blurry results. However, when shot against a suitable background the colours create many interesting perspectives, and even without being collapsible, the structure is very playable.

Vier gewinnt

I drafted the model with elastic string, using nylon for the 'base' of each tensul. It was tricky to balance, and untuned itself easily. Once I replaced all tendons, the model had movement as well as balance. I dread scaling the concept up, as the build was quite challenging with plenty of hick-ups on the way.

Clover (6 strut tetrahedron)
Clover isn't really a new structure for me - it's tetrahedron where the struts meet in close proximity at its center, instead creating more clearance and 'central space'. However, in this configuration more symmetry than usual can be seen, especially with the use of different colours. Nylon provides plenty of sturdiness, and with my corner configuration it looked a bit like a 4-leaved clover.


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