with water and check for any leaks. If any holes
are found these can be filled in with epoxy filler
prior to use.
5. ASSEMBLY
Assembly requires patience and five lengths of
wire: 1 short (~11cm) and 4 long (~20cm each).
Start with the suspension points at the apex of
the pyramid forms. File a small notch at one point
in the circumference of each hole.
Thread the short wire through the hole in the
apex, allowing 3cm excess, and fit an M2.5 screw;
this will grip the wire and retain the screw in the
hole. Wrap the excess wire around the screw
at the bottom of the screw head. Allow 5cm of
suspension between pyramids, and repeat the
same process on the other pyramid.
Now repeat the same process with the 8 holes
at the corners using the long wires (Figure
J
),
taking care to retain equal tension on each.
Placing a spirit level on the platform will help
in balancing the structure (Figure
K
).
6. PLANT
Due to the size of the liner, you’ll want to populate
your planter with a small and slow-growing plant,
a succulent or cactus for example.
Put the plant in the liner and fill with soil
(Figure
L
). Add a little water if necessary to keep
the plant moist. As the liner has no holes, do not
overwater the plant as it may damage the liner
and/or plant.
Place the liner into the planter.
7. DISPLAY
Now that assembly is complete (Figure
M
), it’s
time to display your work!
FLOAT SOME IDEAS
There are many different directions you could
take this Tensegrity Planter, from simple color
changes (Figure
N
), to scaling it up, to adding
electronics.
This new version (Figure
O
) is printed in
luminous filament and therefore glows in
the dark after exposure to light. In addition,
21 NeoPixel LEDs are fitted within the
hollow sections and controlled by a micro:bit
microcontroller. This allows a number of colors
TIP: Tensioning these wires is much easier if a
support is used. I created a support out of Lego
blocks to support the two main elements with the
correct spacing and positioning.
PROJECTS Tensegrity Planter
50 makezine.com
J
K
L
M78_046-51_TensegrityPlanter_F1.indd 50M78_046-51_TensegrityPlanter_F1.indd 50 7/11/21 3:13 PM7/11/21 3:13 PM
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