Introduction and help with hexagonal tato?

[martian_aphid]

First off, as a new member let me say Hi and thank you for letting me use this resource as I get more into the art of origami.

As a bit of background, I first got into origami whilst at university and looking into tesselated geometry as a study for one of my projects. At the time I was looking at stuff with repeating geometry like rows of waterbombs. After leaving university I have started to make kusudamas and other basic origami in my spare time as I am fascinated by the shapes and find it quite a soothing task. Here is a photo of some of my creations



I'm very much an amateur, most of what I've done is with the help of videos where I've been able to watch the process but I've used a few diagrams and struggled with my first CP, which was actually for the subject of this post.

Basically I look for new shapes in google and try and make the ones I find interesting. One such object is this one



After a bit of research I came to the conclusion it was some form of tato with a hexagonal shape and it can open up like the lens of a camera (this bit I found most interesting), please correct me if I'm wrong, this was only based on observation and no formal knowledge :S The other thing I noticed was the way the centre sort of overlaps itself.

This is my attempt at a tato



The CP I found to make mine was an octagon and the centre does not overlap, in addition when opened the back of the paper is still visible. Basically I would be grateful If your shared knowledge and expertise could point me in the right direction to a diagram or a CP that could help me achieve something similar to that in the previous image.

Thank you in anticipation of your help

[Brimstone]

Hi and welcome to the forums.

Unfortunately I don't have an answer to your questions, I just didn't want your first post to go unanswered.

You're right about the model you look for closing as a camera lens, that "maneuver" has been called "iris closure" by Oschene http://origami.oschene.com/

I experimented a lot last night trying to reproduce it but with no luck. I can give you some advice though and maybe you can figure it out yourself.

In case it is not obvious, start with a hexagon. there are many ways to cut one and the internet has many places where you can find the instructions to do so, here's just one: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQAc733KVEc

Most of these creases result from the method to make a hexagon, just make sure you have all of them:

- Make the creases that join each point with its opposite.
- Make the creases that join the middle of each side with its opposite.

Then bring each point to the center and crease just in between the two radiuses, then collapse the model by bringing all the points to the center and making the model flat and by making so you create new valley folds.

this will produce a model similar to the one you want but a bit different, since it does not overlap at the center and the top flaps are shorter. Keep experimenting with this shape and maybe you'll succeed. Good luck.

The type of geometric stuff that you mention is the one I like to fold (from a single sheet only) so check my gallery (link at the end of the post) you might find some interesting stuff there.

[smarcelab]

By looking at the picture in which the tato is half open, it seems to me that there are small cuts in sides of the hexagon. What do you think?

[Brimstone]

By looking at the picture in which the tato is half open, it seems to me that there are small cuts in sides of the hexagon. What do you think?

I don't see the cuts but while struggling to make it, I thought it may include cuts.

[martian_aphid]

Let me begin by thanking you both for your insights. My post had two objectives, one being to seek some guidance with something I was struggling away at but it was also a way to introduce myself because I want to improve my folding and what better way than joining an online community, so thank you also for the welcome

After my post I actually went back to it and studied it a bit further. Brimstone, your suggestion was actually my first line of experimentation. Instead of working from a octagon I tried a hexagon base shape. This is what it came out like



As you suggested it doesn't come out like the original reference I was using, here's a little diagram of the things I noted as being different.



Basically, I noted the differences as being the lengths of the flaps, the angle at which they project and the way they overlap at the centre to form an interlocking spiral. I believe you have both provided me with some insight here for further investigation - the iris technique and the fact that smarcelab is indeed correct that the flaps have cuts in them, which I believe allows them to overlap. So I have some further routes to explore!

After realising the hexagon wasn't going to work with the same folding structure as the octagon I actually did a bit of improvisation on it and it ended up with this, haha!



No idea if its original or not but it looked kind of interesting.

@ Brimstone, after following the link to check your flickr what you said about having a shared interest in geometric patterns was spot on because I realised that I recognised many of the images in it as I had browsed through it before and been extremely impressed and intersted by your work ;-D I really like your tessellation pieces and your hexagonal flagstone in particular. I actually came across a rhombic waterbomb CP by Eric Gjerde last night and started to give that a go - I think trying to collapse it is going to take me some time!!!

[Brimstone]

Well it was my pleasure to help. Keep experimenting.

You're going to be a great addition to this forum.

[ahudson]

iris by origami_madness, on Flickr

Sorry for the small size of the image. Thick lines are cut, thin lines are folded.

[Brimstone]

No matter how I fold it, my finished model doesn't look anything like the one requested, am I doing something wrong?

I was going to suggest this model could be a modular, what do you think? Maybe?

[smarcelab]

I think it's something like this:



Black: mountain
Red: Valley
Thick: Cut

I tried with a 15 cm x 6 cm rectangle and it looks almost like the picture, but you can change the a little the proportions. I tape the ends to make a cylinder and then collapse, but I guess that an alternative is to divide into 7ths and then overlap a two flaps to lock in place.

[Brimstone]

I just redid Marcela's CP, printed and folded it and even though the final model is very close to the one requested (and also very nice and also an iso area model), it is not the original model, since this is a model that has its two ends joined at one point (but still are two independent ends) while the original has no beginning and no end.

[Brimstone]

I have a friend who is quite good at modulars and I asked her about this hexagonal tato and she sent me this picture:


She might have diagrams somewhere but she just returned from vacations and is quite busy.

[Brimstone]

My friend says it is the model diagrammed here: http://www.modulandia.it/modelli_dod.htm named Facilissimo pentamodulo per dodecaedro