Tensegrity Structure

Images:

Summary:

Entering the world of tensegrity and the endless possibilities of designs and functions that could be made possible, my partner and I decided upon a more decorative tensegrity structure that adds an aesthetically pleasing element. Parts of our design that were crucial for success was to have enough support so that our structure would not tilt to one side or collapse if too much weight was placed upon it.

The Terrific Tensegrity Table functions as a table, yet miraculously appears to be floating somehow. Standing at around 30 centimeters tall, the table is as functional as it is mind-boggling. This project wouldn’t have been possible without the infamous NotApplicableProductions, who brought creativity and a keen eye to the table. Fishing line and hooks are necessary to complete the assembly.

Our client outlined his expectations and criteria with the following constraints:

• Design must take advantage of print orientation to create the strongest structure possible.
• Each piece should fit inside of a 15cm x 15cm square.
• When constructed, the final structure should fit in a 20cm x 20cm x 20ish cm cube.
• Parts must begin with a constraint box, center-rectangle centered on the origin)
• No single dimension can be smaller than 0.25cm
• All plates must have a thickness between 0.75cm and 1.00cm
• All beams should have a thickness of 1.00cm
• Engravings should be cut to a depth of 0.07cm
• Dimensions should be detailed but efficient.
• Sketches should be fully defined when complete.
• Parts must contain zero error messages.
• Structures must be assembled virtually before 3D Printing to ensure successful models.

Parts for printing:

• Jaiden - Tensegrity Base REVISED (x1)
• Jaiden - Tensegrity Top REVISED (x1)
• Jaiden-Tensegrity Support REVISED (x2)

Tools for constructing assembly:

• Fishing Line
• Screw Hooks
• Drillbit
• Hammer
• Wire Cutters
• Pliers
• Hot Glue (optional)

Assembly Instructions:

1. Screw in hooks into holes on bases and supports, applying downward pressure and turning until each hook is secured into place (10 hooks in total)

• If you’re having trouble screwing the hooks in, widen holes by lightly hammering using a drill bit

• We recommend applying pressure and turning hooks using pliers for added leverage

• NOTE: The support beams are particularly fragile if hammering through. If the support cracks under tension, apply hot glue and clamp shut, securing a strong adherence.

Once the hot glue has dried, shave off any excess glue and resume screwing in the hook.

1. Piece together the structure, inserting the end of the support beams into the holes in the base/top.

• Wiggle the parts until a tight fit is met

• If needed for added strength, hot glue the seam shut

1. Cut at least 10 centimeters of fishing line to be stringed between the two support beams.

1. Intertwine the aforementioned line through the hooks on the support beams while your partner holds them upside-down over each other. Tie each end by fishing the line through the hooks and looping it back through the hole.

1. Measure out four additional fishing lines to be stringed between the bases for horizontal stability.
   • Each line should be approximately 30-40 centimeters in length.

1. Intertwine the fishing lines through the pairs of hooks vertically lined up and tie a knot at each end.

1. Pull each string until they are all under equal tension, and rigid enough to support weight. 
   • A level can be used to properly balance the string tension.

1. Once all the strings have been tightened equally, secure the knots with pliers, and cut them about 2 centimeters from the knot.

Parts List: 

For our Tensegrity structure, we will need two base supports and two supports to construct our magic Tensegrity table. 

Design Choices:

How our idea started was from gathering information from the site printables.com and combining our ideas together to create a tensegrity structure of our own. Compromising on simplicity and having a little bit of a challenge, one of our main concerns was stability on both sides of the structure and not having one side be able to be pushed over if a stronger force acted upon it. 

From the beginning we looked for abstract ideas that encompassed both of our ideas into the project and took pen to paper to  create our ideas into reality. Inspiration came from the site printables.com and me and my partner prioritized simplicity with a strong base because we considered the longevity of the structure being held up by fishing line over time. The first day of Solidworks was a success as we drew our design and smart dimensioned everything to match our dimensions on paper. Day 2, we extruded our designs on solidworks by 0.10 centimeters without worrying about the stability of our structure. Our ideas that we wanted to include were adding our initials, making arrows on the support pieces, and extruding lines that intersect one another for the bases. At first, we printed out our pieces extruding cut 8 holes(4 holes on each leg of the base) and had to hammer using a drill bit, careful not to hammer too hard and split the pieces apart. Once the hooks were screwed in, we intertwined the fishing line to construct our tensegrity table. 

Problems that we ran into was that when our pieces were printed the first time, the plus sign and our initials were smudged and were not lined up properly. Other than that, the fit between our support pieces and the hole for them fit nice and snug. 

After fixing the negligible initials, we printed our tenseigrty structure 2.0 in new colors which made one base red and the other blue while the supports were both black. The final thought process for the colors included wanting to make our table stand out and that these were our favorite colors in general. 

NEW vs OLD PICTURES:

New (in support structure)

Old (in support structure)

Old (in bottom base)

New (in bottom base)