Thursday, August 28

A-Frame 2D Geometry

A-frames have been around for awhile now, but I don't think people have adequately explored their possibilities yet. I just got a ton at BrickFair, so let's see what they can do. A-frames are 45° angles, as proven by this stylish octagon. The first example on the left is just two A-frames attached together, which is pretty cool. A similar assembly, with hinges bent at 135° degrees, is sturdier, still rigid and more aesthetically pleasing. They have some quadrilateral type tessellation possibilities as well. Adding a third A-Frame maintains rigidity and opens up a lot of possible tessellations, with hinges at 165° and 15°. A fourth A-frame loses rigidity and is pretty terrible by itself. But, the 45° hinges allow the addition of a layer of four more A-frames at an offset, which restores rigidity and looks awesome. I'm not sure what practical use it is beyond the standard abstract space applications, but I'm sure there are others. The shape also tessellates in a couple different ways. Some classic triangle tessellations! Always exciting to me, personally.
I have to do some experimenting with 3D A-frame assemblies, but so far I haven't had much luck. Hinges are really better for 3D shapes.And I think I need to buy more A-frames.

What epic A-frame uses have you found or seen? Link them in the comments! EDIT: Just found this surprisingly similar post over at Dagsbricks. Some cool stuff that I didn't think of, it pairs well with my post.

2 comments:

  1. They also make nice cubes: https://www.flickr.com/photos/65992320@N05/12756445434/

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    1. You know, i saw that picture but I didn't realize is used A-frames. That's a pretty sweet structure, and probably closer to their intended purpose. But seriously, beyond cubes, A-frames seem pretty useless for 3D geometry...

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