cuboctahedron, Vector Equilibrium

This is a wireframe model of the cuboctahedron, a cube with the corners cut off at the midpoints, with the radii to each vertex.  Named the Vector Equilibrium by Buckminster Fuller, it is the shape of the vertices of the octet truss, now used to span large areas throughout the world.  The radii of the vector equilibrium represent 12 equal forces balanced at the center, and was said by Fuller to represent a primary energy system of the universe.

This is why Fuller considered it so unique: All five Platonic solids also have 'balanced equilibrium vectors', in the sense that the radii from their centers to their vertices are equal in length and symmetrical around the center; hence if each radius vector were a force pulling outwards, the forces would balance.  But only the cuboctahedron has edges that are also equal in length to its radii. So an octet truss, made by merging together a lot of these "vector equilibria" on their square faces, is uniquely strong: it is composed entirely of tetrahedra and octahedra, all with equal length struts.

I've recently made this model 10% larger in hopes that it will print in the steel materials.