8 foot folding hexayurt

[Adam Gensler]

i was watching the 8 minute folding hexayurt (two parts--cone and sides) assemblage video and  wanted to confirm my suspicion about securing the structure to the playa (for bm). it seems that once the hexayurt is assembled, it is still necessary to tape over the panels again for purposes of creating sufficient stability for the anchors.  what i mean by this is do you have to create the anchor from tape and then run that tape over the top of the cone and down the other side to set the anchor up there?  or is that not right? i guess you could combine the anchors into the folding cone feature, eh?  that would seem to make more sense.  you basically assemble the roof cone with the anchors in such a way that it folds up on itself.  just thinking aloud and on the fly here.  am i getting warmer? -a

[Adam Gensler]

i've been working with a cardboard model and think the following approach might be a nice combination of ease of assembly on the playa and durability. this is a variation of the folding hexayurt (the one in the 8 minute assembly video).  my tweak is that the roof cone will be in two pieces, each with three isosceles triangles. that fold up on themselves.  i believe having two folding pieces for the roof will easier and safer to transport than doing it in one large folding piece.  you can sandwich the two folding roof cone triangle pieces (the two pieces combine to make a 4 ft x 8 ft x 6 in rectangular stack) with three 4 x 8 side boards. the seam of the two triangles that form the isosceles will be taped top to bottom.  but the seams where the roof cone has an edge (where the hypotenuse of each triangle joins) will be connected with a sparse amount of tape (in order to be somewhat economical with the tape usage).  when the roof is assembled, these corner edges (which have minimal tape during transport) will be taped in the proper way--with tape anchors and tape that runs from the bottom corner, along the edge, over the top of the cone and down the edge on the other side.  in the end, there will be six corner anchors that are more or less bomber.  i'll add anchors to isosceles triangles as well, but they will not be as strong as the corner anchors because they will not go over the top of the cone and to the other side.  i think having six very secure anchors and six "assisting" anchors will be strong enough for desert conditions.  but i'd love some thoughts from everyone. thanks. -a --- On Sat, 7/19/08, Adam Gensler <downw...@yahoo.com> wrote:

[Vinay Gupta]

Anchoring issues is why I'm not heavily promoting make-yer-own folders. We don't know the best way to anchor them yet. What you're describing is one option. Another is that you could make anchors on the tape that's being used as hinges, and trust the adhesives. 6" x 8' is four square feet of adhesive contact per tape anchor, maybe that's enough. Another way is to make what amounts to an equilateral triangle of tape, point at the edge of the roof, as high up as you can reach, and trust the adhesives on your 6" tape to hold it down - full 12 anchors. Another approach would be to try the rope thing, but with something like a cargo net that would *definitely* spread the load. Or you could fabricate anchor points into the *tension ring* - like stick a series of loop of tape that will hold an anchor to the tape as you go around taping the tension ring in place and then guy to those... that's probably the best idea.

But, yes, fundamentally, anchoring folders is an unsolved problem. A very slick manufacturing process could actually leave tape going right over the point of the hexayurt *and still have it fold* but I can't see an easy way of doing that without jigs and walking on boards or similarly crazy arrangements.

The folding thing looks a lot more useful than it is, frankly. Putting up a hexayurt is no big deal if you've done it once before and you've got three or four people who understand the process. Taping a folder is pretty time consuming, and when it's done, yes, you can just pop it up, but then there's the whole anchoring thing to contend with. In a 60 mph wind, I, *personally* would much rather have spent the extra 40 minutes on the Playa taping it together because then I know, for sure, that the thing is going to stay on the ground until the tape anchors fail.

Vinay

-- 

Vinay Gupta - Designer, Hexayurt Project - an excellent public domain refugee shelter system

Gizmo Project VOIP: 775-743-1851 (usually works!)              Cell: Iceland (+354) 869-4605

http://hexayurt.com/     Skype/Gizmo/Gtalk: hexayurt      Two's company. Three's Musketeers

[Adam Gensler]

much thanks. my concern/issue is that i might not have three or four people who understand the process.  hence, easier assembly on the playa has extra attraction. i'm thinking my revised idea of a two-part folding cone top whereby you secure the six corner edges of the isosceles triangles by running the tape anchors "over the top" and down the opposite edge could provide the right mix of durability, ease of assembly and economy of tape. i'll be thinking this through with some others during a test run today. -a --- On Sun, 7/20/08, Vinay Gupta <hexa...@gmail.com> wrote:

[The Distinguished ...]

Greetings,

As a retired theater rigger, it occurred to me that we might be going
about the tape-anchors wrong.

If you trust your roof seams to stay together and stay attached to the
main body seam (which I'm taking for granted with the 6" bidirectional
tape), then, what you want to do is provide diagonal anchors, not
knowing which direction the wind will be coming from, presume both
diagonals on each side. Basically run your line of tape diagonally in
both directions across each face of the hexayurt, as if it was a giant
X. You can either terminate the anchors right at the bottom corner, and
put your stakes there, or, to give yourself a little more stability, run
them such that the cross of the X is a little higher than the center of
the pannel, and run your tape anchors out a bit farther than the edge of
the hexayurt face (6" to 1') in a straight line. This locks down your
roof/wall ring to the ground, in 12 places.

Also, this means you don't have to add the anchors at Black Rock City
for a folding hexayurt.

Just some thoughts.

Percival

[Vinay Gupta]

This sounds good, although I'm not 100% sure I'm visualizing it
correctly. Any chance you could do a drawing and send a link to the
mailing list?

Vinay

PS: or send it to me, and I can upload and link.

--
Vinay Gupta - Designer, Hexayurt Project - an excellent public domain
refugee shelter system
Gizmo Project VOIP: 775-743-1851 (usually

works!) http://hexayurt.com/
Cell: Iceland (+354) 869-4605
Skype/Gizmo/Gtalk: hexayurt
People with courage and character always seem sinister to the
rest Herman Hesse

[The Distinguished ...]

Greetings,

On Sun, 2008-07-20 at 19:58 +0000, Vinay Gupta wrote:
>
> This sounds good, although I'm not 100% sure I'm visualizing it
> correctly. Any chance you could do a drawing and send a link to the
> mailing list?

Unfortunately I don't have any of my normal drawing tools to hand, so
you have to put up with this really ... umm ... vague drawing. When I
get home (in a few weeks) I'll be happy to draw it up properly. In the
meantime, this gives you an idea of where the tape lines should go (the
lines on the faces).

Percival

[Vinay Gupta]

Wow, the list handles attachments. That's very useful.

Oh, that's damned clever - so the tape could (somehow) be fastened to
the tension ring, and then it comes off at the corners to the tent
pegs - this is great. By moving the load to the tension ring - I'm
assuming you'd run the tape along the tension ring - you get to carry
the loads on something thats much stronger than the panel surfaces.

Could work. Let me know how it goes if you try it or make models.

Vinay

--
Vinay Gupta - Designer, Hexayurt Project - an excellent public domain
refugee shelter system
Gizmo Project VOIP: 775-743-1851 (usually works!) Cell:
Iceland (+354) 869-4605
http://hexayurt.com/ Skype/Gizmo/Gtalk:

hexayurt hey i found squirrels

> <longer_tape_anchors.jpg>