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Icosahedron 6/2/2005 3:25 PM
All struts are of equal length (6'8" long) and are made of 3/4" schedule 40 PVC. Since PVC is sold in 10' lengths I cut 1/3 (3'4") off the end and combine two ends (with a PVC slip connector) to make another 6'8" strut. Seventeen 10' pipes generate the requisite twenty-five (and a half) struts. Because the walls are nearly vertical (the actually extend outward, somewhat) all 84.3 square feet of floor space is useable. The ceiling is ~9' high in the center and ~6' high at the edges. The vertices are a little more complicated. 1/2" steel conduit are cut into 3" lengths. One end is squashed flat and bent (32 degrees) while the other side is epoxied into the smaller end of a PVC 3/4" slip-end to 1/2" threaded male adapter. The squashed end of the metal piece has a hole drilled through it and is permanently bolted to four other identical assemblies. During construction, the struts themselves just slide into the vertex pieces. Consequently, there are no bolts to contend with during setup. There are fifteen equilateral triangles comprising the geodesic, the surface area of each is ~21 square feet. The surface area of the entire exterior is, therefore, ~318 square feet. A one-piece rain covering made of 4mil black plastic will be constructed out of five flat trapezoids duct-taped together. Eventually, a proper shade cover will be made using the same technique (sewn together rather than duct-tapes, though). I'm hoping to use Aluminet for this purpose. Image Gallery:
PVC Framework |
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