Great dome demo and explanation!! Could you give me some guidelines to how to estimate (ideally calculate more precisely) the strength of a dome? Obviously there're many more factors like material, thickness, beam shape etc... but even generic guidelines will be appreciated! Thanks! :)
Hey there! I'm actually working on an Excel spreadsheet to go with this that'll calculate all that for you, but it'll be a while before it's done. In the meantime, Google "strength of geodesic domes" or similar, and you'll find there are some decent resources out there. It's really just a lot of trig, and that's why the Excel will be nice.
I know i'm late here but...i'm a little confused on the part where @6:11 he says the first ring connect longs but step 5 shows connect it 10B's which are small??
I'm very late to the party, but after inverting that pentagon in the dome and turning it upside down, you could now use it as the base for another dome to gain more interior volume/a higher roof while the radius remains the same.
Hi ,,,, because it’s 2V. you put strut A in the first ring ? Pls tell me how you decide to put type A. or A with B ,,, by the way your videos is so good and easy way to understand…,
Good afternoon i build a 2v geodesic dome out of pvc we talked about covering it i have a question its about a wooden 2v geodesic dome which i have Learned it is easier to cover them im wanting to know how do I find the bevel angles that run the length of the struts alot of the on line calculator tell the end miter cuts but I can't find the bevel angles can you help thanks for sharing your experience
Great job I built a dome out of pvc using your instructions and the dome turned on Great I have one problem how to cover it I tried tarps not a good look I tried again with plastic sheeting works better but still looks bad any advice on the subject would be greatly appreciated thanks for sharing and help please
Yeah, umm... domes are really hard to cover. They almost require a custom covering with each gore sewn to match. However, old round parachutes work fairly well. Thanks for watching! glad it helped.
2:13 ! If you ever drop a blade, you NEVER EVER do what he did there! Replacing a dinged blade is cheaper than replacing your finger. Just let it drop, kids.
Hey Bartsons, yes there is a relation between the two. It's based heavily in geodesic math, and that's why I suggest using that strut length calculator, because it does all the hard work for you. Just cutting a bit off won't quite give you the shape you need, and I've never tried to do it, because there's no real good reason to be less than perfect. Thanks for asking and watching.
The 1m long pieces would be your long strut (A), you'd then need to cut it a bit to get your (B) struts. You'd also need to come up with a way to connect them since you can't smash PVC and punch a hole through it like you can with paper or steel conduit. I would recommend cutting thin strips of flat steel bar that just fit inside the diameter of the tube. Then you can drill through the pipe and this bar and insert a bolt. With a portion of the bar sticking out of the end, you can then drill another hole on that end and bolt them together to form the star joints. The flat steel bar would allow you to bend it between the bolted star joint and the pipe bolt to give you the proper angle. The strut length you measure would then run from joint hole to joint hole, so your longest A strut would be slightly longer than 1m to account for these metal bars on the end. This means you get a bigger dome! It would be a lot of work, but that's about the only way to do it with pvc. Although, PVC can be bent if heated with a heat gun, but it's a pain. And you still need some way to connect them. I did find a company online once that sold PVC joints for geodesics, but the fittings were very expensive.
Hey! The units don’t matter. Just keep the units consistent. All that matters is the ratio of the lengths. Desertdomes.com is the online calc I recommend. It goes both ways. Thanks for watching.
Hey Diane! The B Struts in that case are 26.53. It'll give you a radius of 48.5. Thanks for watching. Check out that link to desertdomes.com if you want to experiment with strut sizes and dome sizes.
Would this hold up with a sheet over top of it I am building a parade float that is going to look like an uprooted tree instead of a tree it is going to be a field goal post but I want to put a sheet over top with roots like a tree drawn on it?
@@MikesInventions if I may, in this vídeo you gave a Ratio for the length.. .883... is there a ratio for the 3v dome paper (next vídeo)... Like A, B and C? Thanks again and congrats for making it very comprehensive!!
Hi there! You'd poke them at a length according to that formula at the beginning of the video. It's all dependent on your strut length. Just leave enough at the ends so the holes don't tear out.
A4 is the closest size to what I used here. I used US letter size actually, but I would have liked to use something larger, like 11x17 or A3 if I had it. Thanks for watching!
Umm hey Mike, I wanted to make a huge dome (4 people worth shelter) with 'cardboard tubes' (the ones that are the core of huge printing paper rolls)... What do you suggest , how do I go about it, especially with the joinery?
Hey Purva, I'd suggest either flattening the ends of the tubes and drilling them, and connecting them with bolts or something similar. You could also cut one end of your tube into a short flap that bends away from the tube, then make a hole in the flap and attach them that way. You could also cut short strips of something rigid, yet bendable, that you can insert inside the ends of the tubes then drill the ends of the strips and bolt together and then bend to the proper angles. This method allows you to make the complex angles automatically as you form your dome. It's also possible to tie ropes together and fish them through the tubes, when pulled tight and tied off, they allow your tubes to remain rigid. There are many ways, as you can see. Just do what's easiest and best for your situation. Thanks for watching!
Mike Thompson thank-you so much Mike...but I'm also having trouble estimating the size, since four people need head space inside the dome, and the maximum length if strut i can use is 18 inches (it's a college project, and I'm an architecture student btw) so what frequency of dome would be most suitable?
Hi! This dome requires 35 long ones and 30 short ones. Check out 1:16 for the length calculation as well. Good luck! It's a bit tedious at first, but it's totally worth it.
Hey, have you ever heard of this thing they use to punch holes in paper called a "hole punch?" There's a place called a "stationary store" or "office supply store" which sells them.
I suppose so, with protection against the birds chewing through the paper. Wrapped in tape perhaps, or coated in something like flex seal maybe. Interesting application.
Mike's response was great... I am thinking about building a big version of this for an aviary, cheep plastic in the winter and finch netting always. Did you build one?
HOMELESS!!!..... thank you! thank you! thank you!..... i could fill in with cardboard or 'railroad board'to make a SMALL SLEEPING SHELTER! maybe, glue layers of newspaper over that, as in papermache! then, paint, several times. or varathane!..... KEEP THE DOWEL(S) and use the rolled-up paper on each end/(dowels) for the joints!..... when HOME is up, THICKLY papermache the paper joints?..... foam-board the entire outside of dome and papermache again!.....
Straws and string make pretty strong triangles. Hot glue the vertices after assembly. Building a model is useful for figuring out the best way to assemble the full size structure.
