Tensegrity Trophy

myminifactory

Here is one of my trophy entries for the 3D Printing Industry Awards 2020. The two halves of the trophy are suspended. This is a tensegrity structure. The chains between them are flexible and the only thing holding the trophy together is the tension in all the chains. I believe it would be a pretty unique idea to make a tensegrity trophy. This could also make the trophy more fun to play with as it has moving parts and is not static. The black parts of the trophy should be made using an SLS or MJF printer due to their capabilities of better handling support material. However, if you were to just print the black parts, the trophy would not stand up. The clear center links are also needed. The clear central section has an extra-large central link. Inside that linkage is a twisted hollow pattern creating nice visuals at the center of the trophy. Those transparent/translucent pieces need to be printed on an SLA printer so that the internals are visible. By adding this clear linkage to the center of the trophy and tightening the screws, the trophy will stand up which seems counterintuitive at first. This trophy also represents the idea of different 3D printing technologies coming together in order to make the end product work/look as intended.