WHAT DID I MAKE?
I modeled and 3D printed joints to connect popsicle stick connectors. This project was meant to turn an everyday object into a toy, and with dozens of these joints, popsicle sticks become a delightful sculpture material.
PURPOSE
Fun is simple, and doesn't need to have a high material cost! My popsicle stick joints are quick and simple to print, in order to keep the manufacturing of my toy accessible. I wanted to create my connectors in a manner that allowed people to make a variety of shapes and structures with popsicle sticks, and return to their creations as many times as they desired.
FUNCTIONALITY
The triangular nature of my connectors is what permitted the variety of shapes to be built: The slats along the sides are minutely narrower than popsicle sticks, and the space on top has a slightly smaller width than popsicle sticks. Users can attach the joints in any arrangement, follow a triangular pattern or randomly build on their creation. I also 3D printed a base for the structures (image on the far left). The middle and far right image show a 3D modeled, scaled up version of my connectors.
