The Tensegrity mechanism is an amazing mechanical construction that appears to defy gravity.
We gave this project a little bit of a pre-historic spin. It’s really easy to build, so why not make your own.
Project Files
Materials:
- 2.5mm Eucalypt Plywood
- Cotton Thread
Other Items Needed:
- Glue
- Ruler
- Scissors
The Build
1: Download the project and open it in LightBurn.
2: Place your material into the Emblaser and use the ‘FRAME’ button to ensure your project will cut in the right area then cut the project out.
3: Lay out all of your components to prepare for assembly.
4: Glue the first dinosaur into the slots on the base. Be sure to hold the dinosaur up vertically while it dries to ensure it doesn’t dry on an angle.
5: Glue the second dinosaur onto the second base, make sure you are gluing this dinosaur onto the opposite side of the base to the first one (See below). This way the engraved side of the base will be facing upwards for both of them and they will align correctly.
6: Cut out 4 pieces of string, 3 of them at 23cm and 1 piece at 13cm. Make sure you keep all of the thread as close to the same length as possible.
There will be a little bit of excess string that you can trim off at the end once everything is glued
7: Insert your string through the holes in one of the halves and tie a knot to hold it in place. Place a drop of glue on this knot to ensure it can hold weight and doesn’t loosen over time.
8: Once you have 4 pieces of string tied to one half, begin tying the string to the other half, we found attaching the outer holes first and then the center one was the easiest.
Make sure you keep all of the thread as close to the same length as possible and once you are done, cut off any excess string.
Enjoy exploring your new tensegrity mechanism!
