Paper and Tape Jitterbug (Tensegrity Model)

Buckminster Fuller was one bad dude. He was a designer. An inventor. An innovator. He thought beyond the object of creation to see the humanity in inanimate things, to show the world how ordinary concepts like homes and cities could become organic. Alive.

He even went to Harvard (and left).

Twice.

But for all his grand designs, the most captivating can seem at first to be the most innocuous. Such is the case with the Jitterbug, a deceptively simple yet ingenious bit of geometry. Technically speaking, the Jitterbug is a smoothly transforming cuboctahedron-icosahedron-octahedron-tetrahedron-triangle thing. But practically speaking, it's a lot of fun.

It's not that hard to make one, either.

Here's an animation by kipergok from youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfViCWntbDQ

Step 1 Gathering Materials

The model in this instructable is based off of connecting simple modules. The modules will be triangular, made of cylinders connected at their ends by a flexible joint to allow motion and maintain structural integrity.

To make a simple Jitterbug, you'll only need a few things:


Sheets of Paper
Masking Tape

Scissors
Long, thin cylindrical object (i.e. paintbrush, pencil)


The paper and masking tape make up the cylindrical module, and are formed on the paintbrush or pencil. The tape will also be used to connect the tubes.