Strut removal
It's possible to make almost any spaceframe lighter and
cheaper - by a process involving remvoving struts from
it.
Such removal will usually weaken the spaceframe -
but can almost always be done without destabilising it
completely.
This page gives a couple of examples - based on the octet truss.
Octet truss (top)
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Octet truss (bottom)
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It is simple to prove that these structures are still
theoretically linearly stable - since they consist of
continuous arrays of face bonded tetrahedra and
octahedra.
Octet truss (top)
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Octet truss (bottom)
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The second example illustrates how the structure may be
ephemeralized to an arbitrary extent.
There is no limit on the extent to which the illustrated
hexagonal holes in the fabric could be enlarged.
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