Orderly Tangles Revisited
George W. Hart

Renaissance Banff: Mathematics, Music, Art, Culture
Pages 449–456

Abstract

In the 1970s and 1980s Alan Holden described symmetric arrangements of linked polygons which he called regular polylinks and constructed many cardboard and stick models. The fundamental geometric idea of symmetrically rotating and translating the faces of a Platonic solid is applicable to both sculpture and puzzles. The insight has been independently discovered or adapted by others, but the concept has not been widely used because no closed-form method is known for calculating the dimensions of snugly fitting parts. This paper describes a software tool for the design and visualization of these forms that allows the dimensions to be determined. The software also outputs geometry description files for solid freeform fabrication, and image files for printing and cutting out paper templates. The paper templates make it easy to teach the concepts in a hands-on manner. Examples and variations are presented in the form of computer images, paper, wood, and solid freeform fabrication models.

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