Geodesic Domes

Original introduction from Andy Houston (Blender 2.4 series)

  • Geodesic spheres based on icosahedrons, octahedrons and tetrahedrons.

  • Triangular, hexagonal and hex/tri combo face options.

  • A function that turns the current shape into its geometric dual (sort of).

  • Grid, Cylinder, Parabola, Torus and Ball primitives.

  • Hubs and Struts. Fill out those edges and vertices with your custom, decorative meshes.

  • Superformula deforming. Create rounded triangles, wobbly shapes, etc.

Introduction by Brendon Murphy (Blender 2.6/7 series)

  • This script can be used to create geodesic objects, not limited to domes or spheres.

  • Each mesh type created has it’s own set of editable parameters.

  • By editing the parameters, you can create many simple or complex mesh shapes.

  • Create an equal-sided pyramid, a soccer ball, a wine glass and more.

  • Limited only by your imagination (and some cool math limitations).

  • Create complex mesh deformations with the superformula parameters.

  • In the next section we will cover the menu types and how to use the parameters to “design” your mesh.

Activation

  • Open Blender and go to Preferences then the Add-ons tab.

  • Click Add Mesh then Geodesic Domes to enable the script.

Instructions

Main

The Main menu is where you will do most of your work. The geodesic default triangle will be shown in the 3D Viewport and the Object Creation parameters can be accessed here. Please note: I find it’s easier to use the Object Creation parameters first before moving on to Faces, Struts and Hubs, these will be explained in the sections below.

For now, let’s look at the Object Types and their parameters:

Objects

There are six Object types you can create by default. Using the parameters you can build upon these objects to create more object types. Object Types have unique parameter sets and share the Superformula parameters (described below).

Geodesic Object Class Types

Geodesic

Please note, the Frequency parameters have a high impact on object creation. To create a Geodesic Dome you must increase the Frequency or the default Triangle.

Subdivide Basic/Triacon

Class 1 is the “equilateral triangle”. Class 2 is the “cube”.

Hedron

Choose between Tetrahedron, Octahedron, Icosahedron.

Point

Point (vertex), edge or face pointing upwards.

Shape

Choose between tri, hex or star face types.

Round

Choose between spherical or flat. (May not work for all object types.)

Geodesic Object Parameters

Frequency

Subdivide base triangles.

Radius

Overall radius.

Eccentricity

Scaling on the X/Y axis.

Squish

Scaling on the Z axis.

Square (X/Y)

Superellipse action in X/Y.

Square (Z)

Superellipse action in Z.

Rotate (X/Y)

Rotate superellipse action in X/Y.

Rotate (Z)

Rotate superellipse action in Z.

Dual

Faces become vertices, vertices become faces, edges flip.

Geodesic Object Types

There are six Object types you can create. Each type has it’s own set of parameters. As you can see most menu items are self explanatory. The tooltips will give you further information on individual parameters.

Gap

Shrink faces in direction. Add or remove rows of faces based on height (Z) or (X/Y).

Phase

Rotate around a pivot. Useful for rotating deformation or use with Gap.

Import Your Mesh

You can import your own mesh into Geodesic Domes for use within the script. This is limited to the Faces, Struts and Hubs menus.

Faces

This Section adds extrusions and edits face structures on a mesh.

Struts

This section allows you to extrude an object along the edges of a mesh.

Hubs

This section allows you to place an object at the vertex on a mesh.

Superformula Menu

The superformula settings add a variety of settings such as pinching, twisting, inflate and more complex edit types.

Reference

Category

Add Mesh

Description

Create Geodesic object types.

Location

3D Viewport ‣ Add ‣ Mesh

File

add_mesh_geodesic_domes folder

Author

Andy Housten

Maintainer

To Do

License

GPL

Support Level

Community

Note

This add-on is bundled with Blender.