Buckyball!

Comments and faves

1. 

   gambort (53 months ago | reply)

   Awesome.

2. 

   bldesign (53 months ago | reply)

   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.

3. 

   brickfrenzy (53 months ago | reply)

   You can make one with pulleys too.

4. 

   Dunechaser (53 months ago | reply)

   Very cool.

5. 

   whateverly (53 months ago | reply)

   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.

6. 

   bldesign (53 months ago | reply)

   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.

7. 

   brickfrenzy (53 months ago | reply)

   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.

8. ★

   Shadow Viking added this photo to their favorites. (53 months ago)

9. 

   Happy Weasel (53 months ago | reply)

   This is substantially easier and better than the one I built out of finger hinges and plate hinges.

10. 

    bldesign (53 months ago | reply)

    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.

11. 

    whateverly (53 months ago | reply)

    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.

12. ★

    Dunechaser, fdecomite, Flints Doorknob, [Mσldy Crσw], and ChadAlanJackson added this photo to their favorites.

13. 

    deborah higdon (24 months ago | reply)

    Hi, I'm an admin for a group called lego math and patterns, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

14. This photo was invited and added to the lego math and patterns group.

15. 

    marioanders (24 months ago | reply)

    Wow!

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