Geodesic dome, 5 foot radius, 2" PVC conduit

thingiverse

Dome struts created in Solidworks. The .stl files are full size for a 5' radius dome. You must scale them for printing on a normal printer. I scaled to 8.3%, which makes each strut about 2 inches long, for roughly a scale of 1 foot equal to 1 inch. I will build the full size building from 2" PVC grey conduit. Yes, that is over sized conduit and most people use metal conduit. I just happened to have a lot of scrap 2"PVC (2.375 OD). I will heat it flatten it, bend it, and drill it in the common method. (see Youtube for heaps of vids) The Solidworks files have variables you can change. Use this website http://geo-dome.co.uk/3v_tool.asp and this one http://geo-dome.co.uk/article.asp?uname=bendend_angle to calculate new variables, then put them into Solidworks equations (variables). Also change variables for your conduit size. I will post pics of the 3D model and real building as they happen. Not sure how I will clad the real building yet. This is kind of proof of design and concept. I might wrap the frame in something, then coat in concrete, if I can afford it. There is nothing unique about this dome. Bucky had this in mind decades ago. I just wanted a model, which we can tweak the numbers, print drawings for manufacture, and also print .stl for printing scale models. Have fun. Questions?