Balanced Whales

thingiverse

This project takes its inspiration from Tensegrity, in that its supported by tethers to give the impression of floating. However, I wanted to create something with minimal support meaning the affect will be achieved with only 3 tethers this means that in this configuration the installation will be less rigid and will noticably move if gently blown or tapped. As it is decorative and will not be supporting any additional weight this is not considered an issue. However, this does mean that it is best placed in a location away from random tampering. Rather than a utensil I decided to create something purely decorative based on a living organism rather than a geometric arrangement. See: Tensegrity Planter - https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4844347 I finally settled on a generic whale in the form of an arc whose symmetry is ideallly suited for this type of project. The project would place two blue and white painted, low poly 3D printed whales as though at play, leaping and/or swimming around each other. Due to the minimal support it's not technically classed as Tensegrity as the integrity of the installation is maintained due to gravity rather than the opposing forces of tension and compression. It's the compression part that I have omitted. However, it's relatively easy to transform it into a Tensegrity installation by the inclusion of tethers on the fins that extend down vertically to the supporting base. Additional details can be found here: https://www.instructables.com/Balanced-Whales/