Constructing Geodesic Spheres on Google SketchUp
by Imperar in Workshop > Science
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Constructing Geodesic Spheres on Google SketchUp
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Here is an extremely simple tutorial on how to construct icosahedral geodesic spheres using the 3D CAD software SketchUp. It's so easy to do even a 1 year old could accomplish this.
The very first thing you need to do is to have SketchUp installed. You can download it for free (SketchUp Make 2017) at: https://help.sketchup.com/en/downloading-older-versions
Once installed, start the software
Set Conditions:
- Go to Edit > Edge Style > Disable Profiles
- Go to Window > Model Info > Units
- Set Format to Decimal > Meters
- Enable length snapping at 0.01m
- Enable display units format
- Enable angle snapping at 15.0 degrees
- Make all precision at 0.00m
Download the entire file for this tutorial (The SketchUp file)
Icosahedron - 1V Geodesic Sphere
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An icosahedron is basically a 20 sided 3D shape made up of equilateral triangles. This is the standard format for most geodesic domes as it provides a minimum degree of difference in the surface area for each triangle face and the length of the edges (also known as struts).
It can also be called a 1V geodesic sphere. V means the number of triangle subdivisions on each side of the icosahedron.
Download the entire file for this tutorial
2V Geodesic Sphere
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Download the entire file for this tutorial
3V Geodesic Sphere
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4V Geodesic Sphere
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5V Geodesic Sphere
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7V Geodesic Sphere
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