Edgepanels

myminifactory

I developed these panels in response to part 1 of the Polypanels Design and Print competition by taking a fresh look at what's missing from the Polypanel universe. After printing a pile of Polypanels in several colors, I started playing with the pieces, building various models and shapes, and was impressed with the flexibility of these simple four basic shapes, but couldn't see an obvious answer to the question. I was too focused on the specific shapes, not on the system itself. To get a bigger picture, I spread the printed Polypanels out in front of me, and it hit me that the pile resembled an unmade puzzle. Again, I asked myself "what's missing"? It occurred to me then that edges were what was missing - when you make a puzzle, where do you start? At the edges. These are all interior pieces. I decided to make edges right away. This started out as a few rectangular pieces that could be used to put a nice edge on a design, but I discovered that there were already some edge pieces out there, so I evolved these into a more complete taxonomy of rectangular edge pieces. The "A" series simply replaces the square when used in a finished edge situation. The "B" series is a single-hinge variant with the width of the panel centered around the hinge centerline. The "C" series was devised because the hinge geometry makes the "B" series more than half a panel wide, and I wanted something that could be used for doors or shutters, or other half-panel needs. The "D" panels coordinate with the "C", but are square, and the "E" panels are pure edges, back to where I started from. These panels were devised to work primarily with square Polypanels, but they will fit the other panels as well, of course. I am working on another series specifically to deal with the other variants, and a round edge series so that you can make squares (and other shapes) into circles and other rounded forms.