How to Make Different Bucky Ball Shapes

Cube

• 1

  Pull one ball gently away from the mass, allowing other balls to stay attached as you pull it to extend the Bucky balls into a single, long string.

• 2

  Count along the string to the 36th ball, then fold so that the 37th ball lines up with the 36th and each ball after lines up with its neighbor.

• 3

  Fold the excess string back against the double row to form a third row of 36 balls. Continue folding the excess string back and forth in the same manner to form a 6-by-36 rectangle.

• 4

  Count 6 rows along the rectangle and fold the first 6-by-6 square against the next square to form a 6-by-6-by-2 prism. Fold the next 6-by-6 square against the prism to form a 6-by-6-by-3 prism. Continue folding the remaining three squares in the same manner to form a 6-by-6-by-6 cube.

Hexagons

• 5

  Pull one ball away from the mass to extend the Bucky balls into a single, long string.

• 6

  Count three balls down the string and fold them over along the second set of three balls. The first and sixth balls should connect to form a small ring with a gap in the middle.

• 7

  Press the excess string around the outside of the small ring. It should naturally form a hexagon shape as the spheres connect in the most efficient shape. The hexagon should consist of 12 balls in the outer ring and six balls in the inner ring.

• 8

  Break off the small hexagon and repeat the process to create more small hexagons that can be arranged into more complex configurations or keep trailing the excess string around the outside to make a hexagon of the desired size. Use a single ball to fill in the central hole if desired.

Tube

• 9

  Pull one ball away from the mass to extend the Bucky balls into a single, long string.

• 10

  Count 10 or more balls down the string, depending on the desired tube diameter, and attach the ball on the end to a point on the string to form a loop of the desired diameter.

• 11

  Run the excess string along the loop to form a second loop of the same diameter.

• 12

  Continue coiling the excess string along the loop to form a tube consisting of adjacent loops. After the first two or three loops, the excess string should coil very easily to continue the pattern.