Dome Shade

In the heating and cooling of a dome it is the shading that is most difficult. The shade is designed to be hung from the nineteen vertex points on the top half of the dome.

A) The first shade was meant to evaluate the three problems:

1) What material to use for best solar shading? We had three different samples in this shade.

2) How to attach the shade to the interior of the dome frame? We used a single central pulley and web and hooks at the twelve hubs at the base of the top half of the dome.

3) What real dimensions and attachment points would the final shade need?

B) The final material was selected as drapery liner, Julie got a bolt and created a square of approximately twenty feet, at the time that seemed sufficient.

Using what I thought was a good approximating projection of the inside nineteen vertex points to a planar manifold, I took the central vertex and calculated vectors to the other eighteen points, the inner six were on a planar hexagon, the lower twelve on an irregular twelve sided polygon, not planar.

I found some Extremely Strong magnets, called KeyLock magnets, which I epoxy'd onto the steel hubs.

At this point we had designer walk-out number one. I sent out the envoys bribery and persuasion and I got Julie to consider one more task.

Julie and I laid out sail template material on a large field and I constructed the points onto the material.

We had a party and using tape and modest strength three-quarter inch magnets, we tried fastening the shade to the hubs, ...no go.

Dis-spirited, people dissipated off into the fog.

C) Undaunted, I went onto Amazon and found some Very Strong half inch wide disc magnets, awaiting the magnets I notice no one around for days.

Upon magnet arrival, I hoisted the shade, attached a single hook point on the lower polygon, then using an Extremely Strong magnet I attached it to one of the upper hubs of the upper hexagon. I then went around using Very Strong magnets and got the other 16 vertex points attached to hubs via magnets. After interacting for optimum spatial separation and re-distribution, I marked the points and took down the shade.

Dressing up the envoys bribery and persuasion I went to call on Julie to consider just a little more; as I went out the door I heard Catherine say: "you're wasting your time, she's not coming back."

Perseverance furthers, Julie took it on and sewed three inch wide square pockets with a clever half-inch slot for me to slip the magnets into. I roughly cut the bottom irregular polygon with small arcs between the twelve points.

Success. Thanks to all seen and unseen for their support. Baiss, 1 April, 2015.