Buckyball!

A truncated icosahedron comprising 60 small Technic steering wheels and 90 droid arms.

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Comments

gambort says:

Awesome.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Jonesy built a section, but added another wheel in each hexagon center (20) and 6 arms to add triangles for more stiffness.

It would be interesting to see if the triangles are necessary for strength if you create a full dome or sphere. If the triangles do help a lot, it might make sense to build a snub dodecahedron instead. 60 wheels, 150 arms. Smaller, but rounder.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

brickfrenzy says:

You can make one with pulleys too.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Dunechaser says:

Very cool.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

whateverly says:

I would think the triangles give it more strength. My dodecahedron gets some strength from the click hinges, but I'd hesitate to put a lot of weight on it.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

bldesign says:

I don't doubt they add strength, Ley. Just wondering if they are *required* to keep it from collapsing. Adrian's ball would suggest they are not, except that the pulley connection is much stiffer than the steering wheel.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

brickfrenzy says:

The pulley connection is pretty stiff, yeah. I can put a reasonable amount of force (a couple of pounds) on my sphere without it collapsing. I haven't really tested its full strength, though.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

Happy Weasel says:

This is substantially easier and better than the one I built out of finger hinges and plate hinges.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

bldesign says:

Dan, the bulkiness of finger plate hinge solutions is what prompted me to come up with this in the first place. It's much airier like you'd expect a real dome to be.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

whateverly says:

The steering wheel version tends to sag under its own weight, so I endorse the addition of triangles. In addition to rigidity, the greater density gives a stronger sense of the sperical. It is a tad less airy though.
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken on January 20, 2008
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Buckyball!

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gambort says:

bldesign says:

brickfrenzy says:

Dunechaser says:

whateverly says:

bldesign says:

brickfrenzy says:

Happy Weasel says:

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