Tensegrity: Attempt One

I was unable to start playing with the bamboo rods on Jan 30th like I previously planned, but today I was finally able to take the rods to the solar car shop and experiment with one method of building the structure.

My friend and I first drilled holes in four rods, about 2 inches from the ends. This made the effective length of the rod 44 inches, which meant that our rope members would be about 31 inches long (45-45-90 triangle). We developed a method of tying the nylon lacing that made them extremely taut, and we proceeded to connect all twelve rope members to the four rods.

Then we laid down the pieces on flat ground and attempted to tie the loose ends together, which would necessitate standing the structure up on its own. It turned out that the way we created the holes did not work for the 3D structure and caused our rope members to be of dramatically different lengths. As a result, our first level tensegrity sculpture could not stand on its own.

We now know that we should not tie each rope individually to the rod, but to an intermediate connection that allows for free movement around the circumference of the rod. This will allow all the ropes to adjust to the shortest possible distance once the entire structure is in tension.

The next chance we get, we will try this method and produce a successfully standing first level. Then we will build the next levels. I am considering adding a vine-like texture to the rope members once the structure successfully stands on its own, to give the complete product a more natural, organic look. I also now know that suspending the structure in tension from a ceiling is a viable option and perhaps even easier.