Tensegrity Topper

Tensegrity Toppers for use in STEM/STEAM curriculum to help develop easy to assemble kits that demonstrate ways of building these types of structures; just connect to standard #2 pencils or wood dowels/carbon fiber rods for the struts as well as rubber bands, floss or wire as tension strands.

The term tensegrity was coined by Buckminster Fuller in the 1960s as a portmanteau of "tensional integrity".[2] The other denomination of tensegrity, floating compression, was used mainly by Kenneth Snelson.**

Students can learn about repetition/patterns in design with regards to structure and stability, tensile objects vs solid-frame objects have particular uses and strengths, tensegrity structures can be used to build foldable/collapsable structures and products capable of being packed in small spaces and reassembled, use of tensegrity can be applied to areas of discipline that include Architecture, Robotics and Product Design.

Grade Levels: K-12

These should print without the need for support.

Most tensegrity examples require you to saw, cut or notch dowels which require sharp tools, repetitive cuts and may be unsafe in a class setting. Other methods require rubber caps, utilize tape+string and/or straws+paperclips that may not be as stable, efficient or scalable. There are other types of kits available but are either out-of-print and/or cost prohibitive to scale for a class setting.

A challenge with tensegrity models is that they tend to collapse while being constructed, so patience is needed... It helps to have a system of jigging them to hold them in position while making the connections and cutting the tension strands to length. You can utilize the notch structure at the base of tensegritytopper08 to help hold connections in place temporarily. You can use knotted floss or smaller rubber bands to help hold struts together while you assemble it then remove/cut away the supports once assembled.

tensegritytopper08_simple is a simplified nock setup to quickly put together standard structures without the need for additional complexity.

tensegritytopperplug.stl is used to cover the ends; this can be used to hold the bands in place so they don't slip out during the build but it's optional. They can also be printed in different colors for visual variety.

Depending on how much tension you want/require, you can use one longer band instead instead of multiple shorter bands; the photos included provide an example that shows two smaller rubber bands as tension strands and also includes some extra tension bands that are probably not needed.

Some options to consider are playing with adding or removing tension bands at different points in the structure, connecting tension between middle points on a strut as well as testing the bounce/rigidity of the structure. The toppers can be printed in different colors and you can use a variety of different colors/length of rubberbands as well as using color pencils instead of standard #2 yellow pencils.

Tensegrity Structures;

http://www.tensegriteit.nl/index.html

Tensegrity Robots;

http://www.wired.com/2015/03/robot-collapses-pressure-good-way/

Tensegrity Architectural Forms:

http://www.kennethsnelson.net/faqs/faq.htm

** Wiki Article Overview:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tensegrity