The geodesic dome is a remarkable geometric object, invented by Buckminster Fuller, one of the greatest minds of our time. Here I will instruct you how to make one of them with glass and silicone. Let's do it!
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Signing UpStep 1: Materials
You will need only these things:
1. Masking tape;
2. 30 glass triangles A, 10 glass triangles B;
3. Sharp blade;
4. Colorless silicone.
The glass has to be cut in two triangles, like the template showed below. 30 triangles called A, and 10 triangles called B. You can scale the triangles together up or down, and use any thickness or glass color that you like. The triangles can be cut of a rectangle, like showed below, saving material. You can learn how to cut glass here, or to order it from a glass professional. Ask for the most accurate cut, because the errors will add at the end.
If you like, you could use another materials too: plastic, acrylic, pvc, wood... You can try also another types of adhesive instead silicone: two-part epoxy, pvc glue, gorilla glue, etc. Each of them will have their own different features and have to be tested before you start.
To make a dome with 40 cm of diameter, the base of the triangles will have 123,5 mm each. If you scale up the figure, the dome will be higher, if you scale down it will be smaller.
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Another idea to join the glass panes together would be to use self adhesive copper foil tape like used for stained glass. Then solder everything together; kind of like a stained glass lampshade.
in the summer you'd be cooked to death and in the winter you'd freeze. glass has very poor insulatig qualities. you're bills would be sky-high.
It looks like a very fiddley build, what do you plan to do with it?
So: A= ? x ? x ? and B= ? X ? x ?
One idea that I would like someone to examine is the use of an eliptical distortion of the geodesic dome as a frame for a dirgable. I think it might be lighter and stronger than what they were using in the 1920-1930's.
http://www.desertdomes.com/domecalc.html
covered in copper if your not familiar whit the name of textolite its a simply the material that you make PCBs on
I accidentally pressed the post comment button so I have one question is
Does the triangle B have all three identical sides?
The way to do it is to use self-adhesive copper tape wrapped around each edge of each pane of glass, then simply solder the copper tapes together. :-)
You have to work quite quickly otherwise you risk thermal cracks in the glass, but what's worked very well for me is using an old-fashioned copper soldering iron, the sort you heat up on a gas-flame.
If you give the copper a good coat of flux the solder will whet it very well, and once the structural joint is made you can wipe over the whole surface with the iron to give a nice even coat of solder... the finished effect is a lot like a leaded window.
Once complete, this type of construction is very robust and can withstand a lot more rough handling than you'd expect.
I've always loved geodesic dome houses, back when they were being made in the 70s, kinda sad the idea didn't catch on.
And yes, it's a lovely build, and a lovely instructable! - Pj
aluminum channel. possibly steel channel.
While the silicone works well on the small scale, it's strength and flexibility change from feature to liability as you scale up.
At a 4' dome, a stiff wind would likely knock over your structure.
But, don't throw out all that caulk.
you'll probably want it for bedding your glass into the channel, to avoid chipping, movement, and to make the structure rain proof.