Platonic Solid Polyhedra Connectors

thingiverse

This is a set of connectors that can be used with 1/4" wood dowel (or other 1/4" round material) to assemble five unique polyhedra shapes known as the tetrahedron, cube, octahedron, dodecahedron, and icosahedron. To build each shape, you will need to cut wood pieces of exact same lengths. For my build, I cut multiple 6" lengths of wood dowel and assembled the five polyhedra shown in the photos. To ensure a tight fit between the connectors and the wood dowels, it is essential to taper the holes that the dowels go into and adjust the interior diameter dimension accordingly. This may require sanding down the wood ends or using a drop of glue, depending on the exact diameter of the edge stock you are using. I found that assembly required gently pressing all the wood pieces into each hole until they bottomed out in the connector holes. Below is a list of connectors needed for each shape: * Tetrahedron: 4 * Octahedron: 6 * Cube: 8 * Icosahedron: 12 * Dodecahedron: 20 When printing these connectors, you may need to print them one at a time or all together, depending on your printer's quality. I recommend printing one of each polyhedra connector first to test the hole size and scale up or down slightly if needed. If you like this project, also check out my other related projects, including a fully customizable version of the polyhedral connectors that can be adjusted for internal and external diameters, lengths, and tolerance. You can find this project on Thingiverse at: http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2125889 Print Settings: * Printer Brand: MakerBot * Printer: MakerBot Replicator (5th Generation) * Rafts: Yes * Supports: No * Resolution: 0.1 * Infill: 100% * Notes: The only part that may require supports is the dodecahedron piece. It's a good idea to print out a single test piece for each shape to check the fit of the material and adjust as needed.