Platonic Solids from Playing Cards

 

1.

Hi

As mentioned in my last post, while working out how to make a tessellation out of cd's, I stumbled upon a pattern that could be altered slightly to make constructions from playing cards. To jump from the pattern I created above (1).....

 

2.

 to the platonic solids pattern, consider that each corner of a rectangle in 1. has a hole and a bolt in it. Then transfer that pattern to some playing cards by punching a hole with a sharpened metal rod. Something like 2) is the result. At that point I actually made something instead of just cadding it, and

3.

This was the result. 3. can in turn into a tetrahedron

4.

5.

6.

as shown in 4, 5 and 6. After that, all the the other polyhedra can be made, ie cube, octahedron, dodecahedron and icosahedron.  These are the cantellated forms of the solids. Something of this nature is shown here and here on Pinterest.

7. Cube / Octahedron layout, nice and neat.

8. Octahedron

9. Starting the dodecahedron net. Note Snoopy as Joker!

10. Dodecahedon

11. and with added atmosphere! In the centre is a "candle", see here.

As 8 and 10 are cantellated they are geometries of a form between cube / octahedron and dodecahedron / icosahedron.

Technical details: the playing cards are cheap and flexible, and with the help of a small jig and a sharpened bike spoke, I poked a hole in the corner of each card. Holes are 7mm from each edge and spoke holes were enlarged to 3mm diameter with a nail.  Fasteners are m3 x 12 steel screws and nuts, but a slightly shorter m3 nylon bolt might do a better job. 

12. Parallel architecture, another dodecahedron, see link below.

 

Will post more later, I plan to make the cube and icosahedron. There are similarities between these nexorade card structures and the diy nexorades I developed previously, see pic 12 above and this link. For example, these card structures can join each other at node points. Its very simple!

Regards

Steve Nurse