Mylar constructions

 

With tools, a paper cutting guillotine and Mylar, and m3 nylon fasteners...

made this, a

cube / octahedron, which is now...

with all the other dangly things outside the kitchen window.

View from below. It's held up by a bicycle gear cable, and a nylon nut is a meant to be a low-friction bearing.

Hi

A few weeks ago, I made some cantellated forms from playing cards, and realised that the designs could be taken further, or even moved outside if they were made of different material. I had a roll of Mylar material left over from my time as an engineer at CMG / Regal in Rowville. The plastic film goes between steel laminations and copper wires to stop fires and other disasters happening.

Anyhow to go with the mylar I wanted some plastic fasteners, so bought m3 nylon nuts and bolts through ebay. They all took a while to arrive, but I was quite grateful for the think time before starting to make more things. Finally I got motivated, and made what you see in the photos above. The equatorial panels are folded on one edge to catch the wind, and rotate in the wind.

But no rotation to date, it hasn't been windy, and the fan bits aren't very big, so I can redesign if necessary.

Anyway very pleased with the way the photos came out, I like the transparency of the mobile, and there will be more to follow.

 Update October 16, 2021

New layout with extended fans. Just visible here is a map of Australia in outline, put in by piercing the Mylar with a centre punch.

Globe features now include rotating on a vertical axis, and Australia in the Southern Hemisphere. And fragility.

Settled on an Australian map showing Aboriginal Australia. It has been this way for the last 50,000 years or so with the exception of the last 300 or so.

I did a bit of rearranging of cube / octahedon and have now christened it a globe. By extending the fan blades compared to the top photos, and also adding  string to the bicycle gear cable, the globe now rotates and sways with gay abandon. Very pleased, and I plan to make a few more versions. Here is a short video, it moves quite nicely.

Regards  Steve Nurse