Make a PHiZZ Unit
The PHiZZ unit, by Tom Hull, is a fascinating and extremely simple unit to make and assemble. However, the structures that can be made from this unit are endless. The full name for PHiZZ is the following: Pentagon Hexagon Zig-Zag.
As mentioned before, this unit is very simple to make, as it only requires mountain and valley folds. You can learn how to make such as structure by following these simple steps.
Steps
- Begin with a square piece of paper, color facing down.
- Fold the paper in half horizontally.
- Unfold the paper, it should now be a square with a crease going across it.
- Fold the edges parallel to the center crease and fold them to that crease.
- Turn the model over, and valley crease the center fold.
- With the open edge facing you, take the top left corner and fold it down so that it meets the bottom, open edge.
- Fold the remaining strip down so that the edge meets the edge of the "triangle" formed in the previous step. There should now be a long strip going "downward," or facing you.
- Fold the strip extending from the "base" of the model up.
- Fold the strip to the right, so that a diagonal fold is made with the beginning of the strip.
- Turn the model over.
- Fold the remaining strip down so that another triangle is formed. You now have a finished PHiZZ unit.
- To assemble the unit, do the following:
- Open the pocket of one of the units. Identify the "tab" that goes inside this pocket. In this case, the form can be described as the following:
- Silver will go into red.
- Red will go into blue.
- Blue will go into silver.
- Insert the flap in, (in this case, the silver will be going into the red) making sure that the creases are aligned.
- Put the flap all the way in, a locking effect with the creases should be made.
- Repeat and put the blue tab into the silver pocket this time.
- Repeat once more and put the red tab into the blue pocket. Make sure the structure made in the previous steps stays together.
- Tighten the triangle and you have the basic structure to start making some polyhedra!
- Finished.
Tips
- The sharper the creases, the more attractive the model will be. The model itself will also hold together better.
- The minimum number of units you can make to make a polyhedron is a 30 unit dodecahedron. For the best effect, use 3 different colors.
