Calculator

Geodesic dome kit calculator

Most 'dome kit calculators' online give you one number: strut length. That's the easy 5% of the job. The other 95% — how many of each length, how they pack onto real stock, hub and panel counts, door framing, and whether the frame survives your snow load — is what actually decides whether a kit is worth buying, or whether you cut it yourself.

A geodesic dome kit calculator exists to answer one question before you spend anything: for the diameter I want, what does this actually take?DomeFab does that math the same way a kit manufacturer does internally, and gives you the output directly — a strut schedule, a shopping list, and a structural screen — instead of a single “strut length” box.

What a real calculation needs to cover

A diameter and a frequency alone don't determine a buildable dome. These do too:

Frequency — how many times each triangular face is subdivided. Higher frequency means more, shorter struts and a smoother sphere; lower frequency means fewer, longer struts and a more angular one. See the frequency guide for how 2V, 3V, 4V, and 5V actually differ.
Truncation— how much of the full sphere you're building. A 3/8 sphere is a low, wide greenhouse shape; 5/8 is a taller, more headroom-friendly shell.
Build system — panelized (framed plywood triangles bolted edge-to-edge, no hub hardware), strut-and-hub with pipe or EMT conduit, or timber hubs/butt joints. Each changes the parts list completely.
Stock size — a heavier tube or thicker lumber changes both cost and how the structure performs under load, without changing the geometry at all.
Site loads — your local ground snow load and design wind speed. The same dome can pass in one location and fail in another.

What DomeFab's calculator outputs

Output	What it's for
Strut schedule	Cut length per class, hole spacing, end angles
Shopping list	Cuts packed onto real stock lengths, kerf included
Hub / panel schedule	Every joint's true angles, or every panel's shape
Snow & wind screen	Pass / caution / fail per strut class, code load combos
DXF files	Hub plates and panel templates for a CNC router or plasma table

Everything above updates live as you drag the diameter slider or switch frequency — there's no “recalculate” button, because the same engine that generates the $29 plan PDF runs locally in your browser while you design.

Free vs. what costs $29

The calculator, the 3D preview, every schedule on screen, and the snow/wind check are free with no account. The $29 plan PDF and DXF downloads are the only paid part — for one dome (its size, frequency, and build system), with 30 days of downloads. See pricing on the homepage.