Anna Phengsakmueang: Week 11-Polyhera

Concept

Illustrator File of Compound Dodecahedron and Icosohedron

After being able to practice building a few shapes that were made by templates from the polyhedra website, I felt like challenging myself and making a shape that was almost spherical. As a result, I chose a compound dodecahedron and icosahedron. However, the challenges did not end there, because I decided to add intricate designs that were themed towards stars.

Techniques

Rhino File of Compound Dodecahedron and Icosohedron

First, I downloaded the dodecahedron and icosohedron template from polyhera and then imported it into Adobe Illustrator. After moving just the shape onto a laser cutting template, I began to sort parts of the shape into their specified layers for laser cutting. I also adjusted the lightweights of each of the cuts, and made sure that the inner cuts were dashed so that the cardboard could be folded more easily. Then, within the inner cuts layer, I began to create my intricate design. For all the small triangles, I filled up the space with swirly designs and a small rhombus. By just using one design for all the similar sized triangles, I would be able to unify the sides and ensure that the design of the shape would not be chaotic. For the larger equilateral triangles, I chose a more simpler design that took up less space. I decided that it would help give the shape more structure if less was cut out since the smaller triangles would already be a bit fragile. I used the selection tool as well as the copy and paste command to place the designs on each of the sides of the shape. After my designs were on each of the sides of the shape, I saved the file as a SVG and imported it into rhino, where I adjusted the sizing and lines a bit more. I also placed each of the cuts into their separate layers.

Materials

Compound Dodecahedron and Icosohedron

The compound dodecahedron and icosahedron was lasercut from a 48 inch by 24 inch sheet of 0.06 inch thick E-Flute cardboard. Some parts were cut off, but I tried my best to assemble the shape together using the template as reference. Another aspect of the polyhedron to note is that the wind damaged the shape a bit while I was transporting it, so a few of the intricate details were bent or a bit ripped.