Triaxial woven spheres

Teething ball

One of the simplest triaxial balls - 12 pentagons and no hexagons.

Large woven sphere

This is based on a 2,1 icosahedron - and has 12 pentagons and 60 hexagons.

Double woven sphere

This is based on a 1,1 icosahedron - and has 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons.

Medium woven sphere

This is based on a 2,0 icosahedron - and has 12 pentagons and 30 hexagons.

Small woven sphere

This has the geometry of a 1,1 icosahedron (soccer ball) - and has 12 pentagons and 20 hexagons.

All models were constructed using triaxial weaving.

I made the spheres using wooden struts - obtained by disassembling a venetian blind. Struts were linked into rings using PVC tubing. The results were then woven together.

These woven spheres have no hubs - and are cheap and easy to make.

Similar spheres could be easily be constructed from plastic or metal materials.

Theory

The concave region of each strut is under continuous pressure - while the convex regions are under continuous tension. Such spheres can thus be considered to share some of their properties with tensegrity systems.

Application

Unfortunately the weaving pattern makes covering the dome with regular panels more challenging than usual.

However some domes are covered with tarpaulin or polythene. In such cases attaching the cover to a rather irregular surface is usually no big deal - and this sort of woven construction method could be attractive.

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