Project

Self Assembling Space Frames

Steve Boxal

Ever wish you could toss your folded up tent and have it self-assemble mid-air?  Well...you can. In a zero gravity environment.

Self Assembling Space Frames is a system of struts, connection nodes, and elastic to enable quadrilateral mesh geometries to self-assemble from a collapsed bundle.

The  software accepts meshes or lines and outputs 3d printable nodes that are then strung together with tubes and elastic.  

This system can be used to design self assembling objects and spaces. The frame can accept fabric to create an enclosed private space for astronauts to temporarily deploy and occupy like a space tent.

Initial test show that quadrilaterals are preferred so faces can collapse.  Nodes with acute or obtuse angles are preferred for disassembly.