Building Block: Truncated Octahedron

A simple Construction brick.

derived from this more general tool:
– migrated from here http://www.thingiverse.com/thing:409443
– https://www.printables.com/model/430627-customizable-crystallographic-building-block

Multiple of these bricks can be connected with short pieces of ~3mm diameter filament.
Tip: If the bricks don't go well together the first time they are assembled a mini screw clamp can be helpful.

This brick has 14 faces to it's nearest and second nearest neighbors.
(six cube faces and eight octahedral faces)

Background:

This brick is the Wiegner-Seiz cell http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wigner%E2%80%93Seitz_cell
of the body-centered cubic crystal system 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body-centered_cubic

The three main surface orientations 
(111) (110) (100) can be built without staircase effects.

Notation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miller_index
(100) surfaces with squares up need a second layer to close the square holes.
(110) surfaces with edges between hexagons up are easiest to build.
(111) surfaces with hexagons up need two layers to be built and a third layer to close the hexagonal holes.

This polyhedron is one that may lends itself well for the organisation of future atomically precise manufactured products. http://apm.bplaced.net/w/index.php?title=Microcomponent#super_microcomponent_structures

Category: Construction Toys