Polygon Construction Kit

The Polygon Construction Kit (Polycon) is a software toolkit for converting 3D polygon models into physical objects. Polycon bridges the gap between digital creativity and the physical world by helping turn digital models into physical objects.

Polycon takes a simple polygon model and generates a set of connectors for 3D printing and list of cuts for material to connect the points of the polygon After the connectors are printed and the connecting rods are cut the object can be assembled.

Polycon:

• Converts digital polygon models to printed physical objects
• Creates printable connectors for the vertexes of the polygon and a list of cuts for connecting rods
• Connectors are 3D printed
• Rods are cut from eg wood or metal
• Connectors and rods are numbered for assembly
• Implemented in Python code as a FreeCAD workbench

The first finished sculpture is Chrysalis (Memory of the world from before you had eyes). Experimental support exists for creating larger structures out of metal, by producing instructions for fabricating metal struts in a similar style to geodesic domes. The metal frame for Light Catchers was fabricated using Polycon by generating a cutlist and stickers for the connecting rods.

Polycon software running inside FreeCAD

Exhibitions / Presentations

Light Catchers metal structure realized using Polycon

• (We Are) Light Catchers, City Visions Festival, Jena, Germany, 2015

• Fab Lab Opening Exhibition, Open Innovation Center, Berlin, Germany, 2015
• Polygon Construction Kit Workshop, ThingsCon, Berlin, Germany, 2015
• “Building things that build things: the Polygon Construction Kit”, Dorkbot SF, Artist talk, Gray Area Art + Technology, San Francisco, United States, 2014
• unrender #2, Audio/Visual Showcase, LEHRTER SIEBZEHN, Berlin, Germany, 2014
• Pop-up residency, urban intervention, OCADU Situation Lab, Toronto, Canada, 2014

Press

• Was Uns inspiriert, Make: (Deutschland), Issue 3/2015 pages 215-216, 2015
• PolyCon – luftiges Prototyping, 3d Dinge blog, July 8, 2015
• I connettori: oggetti semplici ma rivoluzionari (Connectors: Simple but revolutionary objects), Kentstrapper blog, Dec 4, 2014
• 3D print yourself a kite with the Polycon construction kit, 3dersorg, Dec 3, 2014
• Go Fly a Kite: Designer Offers “Polycon” Tutorial for 3D Printing Connector to Create Kites and More, 3DPrintcom, Dec 1, 2014
• Polycon in Berlin, Scott Kildall artist blog, Sept 26, 2014
• 6 months with an open source printer, Michael Ang for Packt Publishing blog, Sept 26, 2014
  • Reblogged by Adafruit, Oct 9, 2014

Related projects

• Chrysalis

• (We Are) Light Catchers