Self-folding with shape memory composites†

By Samuel M. Felton, Michael Thomas Tolley, ByungHyun Shin, Cagdas Denizel Onal, Erik D. Demaine, Daniela Rus, Robert J. Wood. 2013

275 citations recorded by the source corpus.

Origami-inspired manufacturing can produce complex structures and machines by folding two-dimensional composites into three-dimensional structures. This fabrication technique is potentially less expensive, faster, and easier to transport than more traditional machining methods, including 3-D printing. Self-folding enhances this method by minimizing the manual labor involved in folding, allowing for complex geometries and enabling remote or automated assembly. This paper demonstrates a novel method of self-folding hinges using shape memory polymers (SMPs), paper, and resistive circuits to achieve localized and individually addressable folding at low cost. A model for the torque exerted by these composites was developed and validated against experimental data, in order to determine design rules for selecting materials and designing hinges. Torque was shown to increase with SMP thickness, resistive circuit width, and supplied electrical current. This technique was shown to be capable of complex geometries, as well as locking assemblies with sequential folds. Its functionality and low cost make it an ideal basis for a new type of printable manufacturing based on two-dimensional fabrication techniques.

Subfields: Biomedical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Polymers and Plastics

View Paper: https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/c0d30104054bac2ab58ffa47f930a19c7f90d277

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In Biomedical Engineering

In Mechanical Engineering

In Polymers and Plastics

Citations in the corpus

Self-folding origami: shape memory composites activated by uniform heating (2014, methodology): “We have recently demonstrated the use of similar SMPs, selectively actuated by resistive heaters, to realize self-folding robots and structures [24, 25, 26].”
Origami-inspired active structures: a synthesis and review (2014, background): “, [101]).”
Pouch Motors: Printable Soft Actuators Integrated with Computational Design (2015, background): “Self-folding origami techniques[6] can automate the folding process of light-weight structures.”
Morphing in nature and beyond: a review of natural and synthetic shape-changing materials and mechanisms (2016, methodology): “demonstrated this approaching using Joule heating to trigger a sequence of plates connected by SMP hinges to fold into both an origami crane [171] and a walking robot [172].”