Sonobè Unit

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Sonobè is a ModularOrigami system named after its designer, Mitsunobu Sonobè. Each Sonobè unit has two pockets that accept points from two other units and two points that fit into the pockets of two other unit. Each unit forms the edge of a polyhedron, connecting to up to four others. This system can be used to build models of PlatonicSolids and ArchimedeanSolids (mainly those with triangular or square faces), or PolyCubes.

More information about Sonobè

Websites

• http://www.origamee.net/creation/sonobes.html
• http://www.math.lsu.edu/~verrill/origami/sonobe/index.html

Books

• Fusè, Tomoko (1990). Unit Origami: Multidimensional Transformations

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Folding Instructions

1. Start with a square sheet of paper. Crease it in half vertically, then fold the top and bottom edges to meet the center line.
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2. Fold the bottom right corner up and to the left.
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3. Fold the top left corner down and to the right.
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4. Unfold the left corner, and tuck the right corner under the upper top flap.
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5. Tuck the left corner under the bottom upper layer. Be careful not to wrinkle the paper too much; it's more constrained than the previous fold.
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6. Turn the unit over and fold the bottom right corner in toward the center.
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7. Fold the top left corner toward the center.
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8. Turn the unit over again, and valley crease along the center.
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The creases described in the last three steps create units suitable for stellated polyhedra with triangular faces. Other types of models use different creasing patterns. The 6-unit cube omits the last center crease, the 12-unit cube omits the two end creases and uses a mountain crease in the center, and PolyCubes units use different creasing patterns depending on where they fit into the overall model.

Assembly Instructions

See SonobeAssembly.

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-- StephenCavilia - 2009-07-17