Origami-based Design Research Articles

A Design Method for Rectangular Waveguide-Typed Microwave Devices Based on a Novel Origami Process.

A novel design method based on a novel origami process that can create a solid structure swiftly and at a low cost is presented for rectangular waveguide-type microwave devices in this paper. A planar structure was fabricated by the lamination and laser cutting of polystyrene membranes and aluminum foils and was converted into a solid structure via origami in accordance with the selective absorption of infrared light. A rectangular waveguide, a rectangular waveguide-type coupler, and a power divider based on an origami structure with a multi-layer structure and a single-layer structure were fabricated and tested, demonstrating easy assembly and good microwave performance. The measured results of the rectangular waveguide indicated that the insertion loss was superior to -0.9 dB. Meanwhile, the results of the coupler showed that the coupling degree increased from -12.8 dB to -8.9 dB in the range of 11.0 GHz to 12.0 GHz. Correspondingly, the prepared power divider demonstrated that the return loss dwindled from -8.9 dB to -11.3 dB and that the insertion loss of one output port was approximate to that of the remaining one, varying between -3.5 dB and -5.2 dB in the range of 10.5 GHz to 11.5 GHz-verifying the effectiveness of the origami-based design method.

Origami-Inspired Deployable Space Habitats

Origami is increasingly used as a source of inspiration in a wide variety of disciplines. In this project, we explore cylindrical origami structures, referred to as “origami bellows”, as novel geometries for orbital space habitats. The dimensions of space habitats are limited by the tight mass and volume constraints imposed by launcher payload fairings. Future deployable habitats based on foldable origami bellows have the potential to achieve large volumes when deployed, while being capable of compacting to smaller stowed configurations for launch. To assess the feasibility of such habitat designs, the deployment performance of a selection of bellows was investigated. Bellows formed from Kresling and Miura-ori patterns were considered; both expand axially, but Miura-ori patterns experience an additional radial expansion. Our scope was also limited to patterns which are stable in both the stowed and deployed configurations. Habitats were judged on their internal and effective volume expansions; the latter being adjusted to account for the practicalities of operating within a complex habitat geometry. We find that significant internal and effective volume expansions are achievable, particularly for Miura-ori geometries. Nonetheless, we make the argument for Kresling patterns as a more practical option due to their simpler geometries, despite smaller volume expansions. We find our Kresling geometries to have effective volumes between 2.5 - 3.6 times greater than a conventional habitat launched in a fairing of equal volume. Our work shows that origami-based designs do indeed have potential to greatly outperform current space habitat designs. Keywords: Origami Bellows, Space Habitats, Deployable Structures

An Origami Flexiball-Inspired Soft Robotic Jellyfish

Both the biomimetic design based on marine life and the origami-based design are recommended as valuable paths for solving conceptual and design problems. The insights into the combination of the two manners inspired this research: an origami polyhedra-inspired soft robotic jellyfish. The core idea of the story is to leverage the deformation mechanism of the origami metamaterial to approximate the jet-propelled swimming behavior of the prolate medusae. First, four possible variants of origami polyhedra were compared by the hydrodynamic simulation method to determine a suitable model for the soft body of robotic jellyfish. Second, the mathematical model for the jet propulsion performance of the soft origami body was built, and the diameter of the jet nozzle was determined through the simulation method. Third, the overall configuration and the rope-motor-driven driving method of the soft robotic jellyfish were presented, and the prototype was developed. The experimental work of jet swimming, thrust forces measurement, and cost of transport further demonstrated the presented soft robotic jellyfish. In addition, the prospective directions were also discussed to improve maneuverability, sensory perception, and morphological improvement. Due to the advantages, including but not limited to, the concise structure, low cost, and ease of manufacture, we anticipate the soft robotic jellyfish can serve for the ecological aquatic phenomena monitoring and data collection in the future.

A Self-Assembled 3D-Shaped Microstrip Microwave Device Inspired by the Origami Structure

An innovative design method inspired by origami is proposed for the 3D-shaped microstrip microwave device in this paper. A self-assembled microstrip low-pass filter inspired by the origami structure is designed, fabricated, and measured. The experimental results of the prepared prototype demonstrate the validity of the origami-based design method for stereoscopic microstrip microwave devices. This work provides a simple method to fabricate thin stereoscopic metal structures of microstrip microwave devices.

Understanding Frugal Engineering Process for Frugal Innovations: Socially Conscious Designs for Homeless Individuals, A Case Study

This paper presents the results of a case study regarding understanding frugal engineering design and process methodology through the fabrication of wearable tent-jackets for the protection of homeless individuals. Frugal innovations are being investigated for socially conscious products, but an understanding of frugal engineering methodology remains unexplored and is the focus of this research. Multiple socio-economic drivers are resulting in a lack of access to basic human needs such as housing, healthcare, etc. across the globe. Frugal engineering presents an equitable and practical engineering approach to address these challenges and merits exploring a methodology for innovations. In this paper, an origami-based design approach was employed to create a functional prototype of a tent for shelter that can be morphed into a wearable weather protection jacket. We call it a “wearable tent”. The prototype was successfully fabricated using a reusable material that is used abundantly in the construction industry. The functional prototype was tested for its efficacy and effectiveness in terms of weight, strength, and ease of switching between the two configurations. The results suggest a potential model that could be explored and applied for socially conscious engineering design solutions for such severely resource-constrained cases for disadvantaged communities with future potential for digitally disadvantaged enterprises.

Designing origami tessellations composed of quadrilateral meshes and degree-4 vertices for engineering applications

Origami-based designs have been successfully adopted to solve engineering problems at different scales of application. This article proposes a method for designing origami tessellations composed of quadrilateral meshes and degree-4 vertices. Crease patterns are generated starting from base units to which are applied tailored generation functions. The theoretical framework is further implemented in a parametric design workflow and automated with the aid of an Interactive Evolutionary Algorithm (IEA). The proposed workflow is a flexible tool that could be applied to design and analyse both rigid and non-rigid foldable origami patterns. The design domain could be investigated without pre-defined design goals and with the support of user-defined performance values.

Origami-Based Design for 4D Printing of 3D Support-Free Hollow Structures

The integration of additive manufacturing (AM) in design and engineering has prompted a wide spectrum of research efforts, involving topologically optimized solid/lattice structures, multimaterial structures, bioinspired organic structures, and multiscale structures, to name a few. However, except for obvious cases, very little attention has been given to the design and printing of more complex three-dimensional (3D) hollow structures or folded/creased structures. One of the main reasons is that such complex open or closed 3D cavities and regular/freeform folds generally lead to printing difficulties from support-structure-related issues. To address this barrier, this paper aims to investigate four-dimensional (4D) printing as well as origami-based design as an original research direction to design and build 3D support-free hollow structures. This work consists of describing the rough 3D hollow structures in terms of two-dimensional (2D) printed origami precursor layouts without any support structure. Such origami-based definitions are then embodied with folding functions that can be actuated and fulfilled by 3D printed smart materials. The desired 3D shape is then built once an external stimulus is applied to the active materials, therefore ensuring the transformation of the 2D origami layout to 3D structures. To demonstrate the relevance of the proposal, some illustrative cases are introduced.

A Novel Origami-Inspired Delta Mechanism With Flat Parallelogram Joints

Abstract In robotics, the origami-based design methodology uses straightforward fabrication and assembly processes to create small-scale parallel mechanisms. Delta mechanisms are among the well-known parallel mechanisms used mostly in pick-and-place operations due to their capability to reach high speeds and accelerations. In this work, we present a novel Delta mechanism based on origami-inspired designs and two-dimensional layer-by-layer fabrication methods, reducing the time and errors in manufacturing. We developed a new flat parallelogram providing translations in X–Y–Z directions, respecting the Delta mechanism’s conventional kinematic models. The fabrication and assembly processes include laser machining and lamination, eliminating manual-folding and bonding steps. The mechanism operates in a 20 × 20 × 20 mm3 workspace and a 17.5 cm diameter circular footprint when it is entirely flat. The kinematic performance of the mechanism is analyzed using a six degrees-of-freedom position sensor on the end effector. The experiments are conducted to follow circular trajectories with varying radii at different heights. Despite having no feedback control from the end effector, the mechanism follows the given trajectories with 1.5 mm root-mean-square (RMS) precision. We also present the effects of the elasticity of flexible materials at different regions of the mechanism on the performance of the Delta robot.

Thickness-utilizing deployable hard stops for origami-based design applications

Abstract. This work develops and presents design concepts and models of thickness-utilizing deployable hard stops (ThUDS) which can be incorporated into origami-based design applications to provide stability in specific fold states. A ThUDS, like a lamina-emergent mechanism, emerges from a flat state and can reside within a sheet. A variety of planar and spherical ThUDS configurations are developed and presented, using diagrams, equations, and prototypes. Examples of ThUDS applications are given and attributes are discussed. Considerations for the design of a ThUDS are discussed. This work outlines how a ThUDS can maintain foldability while improving stability and utilizing thickness. Parameter values for prototypes are also given for reader reproduction.

Transient Dynamics of a Miura-Origami Tube during Free Deployment

With excellent folding-induced deformability and shape reconfigurability, origami-based designs have shown great potentials in developing deployable structures. Noting that origami deployment is essentially a dynamic process, while its dynamical behaviors remain largely unexplored owing to the challenges in modeling. This research aims at advancing the state of the art of origami deployable structures by exploring the transient dynamics under free deployment, with the Miura-origami tube being selected as the object of study because it possesses relatively simple geometry, exceptional kinematic properties, and wide applications. In detail, a preliminary free deployment test is performed, which indicates that the transient oscillation in the transverse direction is nonnegligible and the tube deployment is no longer a single-degree-of-freedom (SDOF) mechanism. Based on experimental observations, four assumptions are made for modeling purposes, and a 2N-DOF dynamic model is established for an N-cell Miura-origami tube to predict the transient oscillations in both the deploying and the transverse directions. Employing the settling times and the overshoot values as the transient dynamic indexes, a comprehensive parameter study is then carried out. It reveals that both the physical and geometrical parameters will significantly affect the transient deploying dynamics, with some of the parameter dependence relationships being counter-intuitive. The results show that the relationships between the transient dynamic behaviors and the examined parameters are sometimes contradictory in the deploying and the transverse directions, suggesting the necessity of a compromise in design.

Uncovering rotational multifunctionalities of coupled Kresling modular structures

Origami-inspired designs for structural and material systems have received significant attention due to their attractive kinematic and mechanical properties, design flexibility, reconfigurability, and multifunctionality. While promising, almost all studies have been focusing on the translational motion/deformation of structures and materials. Little attention has been given to origami-based designs in rotational elements, such as joints, shafts, and motors, despite the ubiquity of such functions in engineering. This research advances the state of the art through introducing a new coupled Kresling modular structure (CKMS) concept to achieve pure rotational motions created by integrating two Kresling origami tube modules with opposite chirality. A model with nondimensionalized parameters is first developed to investigate the various kinematic and mechanical properties of CKMS. Results show that several key CKMS rotational characteristics, such as multistability, energy absorption, and tunable stiffness can be programmed by varying key geometric design parameters. We find that interactions between modules may give rise to an asymmetric bistable property that enhances energy absorption. The CKMS enables tunable stiffness and quasi-zero stiffness (QZS) in rotation, which can be harnessed for vibration isolation. Furthermore, the proposed CKMS exhibits self-locking, a feature of certain origami patterns that arises from panel contact and offers a means to change stiffness significantly. Design guidelines to synthesize the multiple functionalities and mechanical properties explored in this research are discussed. The outcomes lay the foundation for origami-inspired structures that can transmit torque, isolate torsional vibrations, and absorb energies in rotational systems.

Origami fold states: concept and design tool

Abstract. The ability of origami to alter its properties and behaviors with its shape makes it an elegant source of inspiration for many engineering designs challenges. Fold states specify the shape of the origami – its facets, creases, and fold angles. Origami research recognizes several acknowledged fold states: the unfolded, fully folded, and flat-folded states. However, these fold states are not comprehensive, excluding some of the most predominant fold states in origami-based devices. In this paper we propose a comprehensive list of fold states based on fold angles. We support the method of categorizing fold states by evaluating the functions and fold states of a large sample of origami-based devices. These correlations provide insight for selecting fold states for origami-based design. We discuss properties and behaviors of the fold states individually and provide a process for fold-state selection.

An origami-based design approach to self-reconfigurable structures using 4D printing technology

Owing to the ability to achieve structural changes after manufacturing, reconfigurable structures have great application potential in the products of the future, and should be naturally addressed in engineering design. However, most of the reconfigurable structures require the introduction of new optional components, or the removal of existing components from the system itself, even replacement of components in order to switch from one structural configuration to another, which brings a lot of difficulties and complexities in design, manufacturing and usage phases, that can be partially solved by deploying modularity through the product lifecycle. Another inherent aspect of such structures concerns the self-transformation functionality and the related sequence planning issue that require a specific and different attention in preliminary design.To solve these problems, this paper proposes a new method based on smart materials and 4D printing technology to design and fabricate more compact structures that can realize self-reconfiguration via environmental stimulus without the need to alter sub-structures or components. A tentative design case is presented for the method demonstration. The experimental result shows that the proposed method is capable to achieve more complex reconfigurable structures.

Stiffness Control With Shape Memory Polymer in Underactuated Robotic Origamis

Underactuated systems offer compact design with easy actuation and control but at the cost of limited stable configurations and reduced dexterity compared to the directly driven and fully actuated systems. Here, we propose a compact origami-based design in which we can modulate the material stiffness of the joints and thereby control the stable configurations and the overall stiffness in an underactuated robot. The robotic origami, robogami, design uses multiple functional layers in nominally two-dimensional robots to achieve the desired functionality. To control the stiffness of the structure, we adjust the elastic modulus of a shape memory polymer using an embedded customized stretchable heater. We study the actuation of a robogami finger with three joints and determine its stable configurations and contact forces at different stiffness settings. We monitor the configuration of the finger using feedback from customized curvature sensors embedded in each joint. A scaled down version of the design is used in a two-fingered gripper and different grasp modes are achieved by activating different sets of joints.

Fabricating biomedical origami: a state-of-the-art review.

Origami-based biomedical device design is an emerging technology due to its ability to be deployed from a minimal foldable pattern to a larger volume. This paper aims to review state-of-the-art origami structures applied in the medical device field. Publications and reports of origami structure related to medical device design from the past 10years are reviewed and categorized according to engineering specifications, including the application field, fabrication material, size/volume, deployment method, manufacturability, and advantages. This paper presents an overview of the biomedical applications of devices based on origami structures, including disposable sterilization covers, cardiac catheterization, stent grafts, encapsulation and microsurgery, gastrointestinal microsurgery, laparoscopic surgical grippers, microgrippers, microfluidic devices, and drug delivery. Challenges in terms of materials and fabrication, assembly, modeling and computation design, and clinical adoptability are discussed at the end of this paper to provide guidance for future origami-based design in the medical device field. Concepts from origami can be used to design and develop novel medical devices. Origami-based medical device design is currently progressing, with researchers improving design methods, materials, fabrication techniques, and folding efficiency.

Uncovering the deformation mechanisms of origami metamaterials by introducing generic degree-four vertices.

Origami-based design holds promise for developing new mechanical metamaterials whose overall kinematic and mechanical properties can be programmed using purely geometric criteria. In this article, we demonstrate that the deformation of a generic degree-four vertex (4-vertex) origami cell is a combination of contracting, shearing, bending, and facet-binding. The last three deformation mechanisms are missing in the current rigid-origami metamaterial investigations, which focus mainly on conventional Miura-ori patterns. We show that these mechanisms provide the 4-vertex origami sheets and blocks with new deformation patterns as well as extraordinary kinematical and mechanical properties, including self-locking, tridirectional negative Poisson's ratios, flipping of stiffness profiles, and emerging shearing stiffness. This study reveals that the 4-vertex cells offer a better platform and greater design space for developing origami-based mechanical metamaterials than the conventional Miura-ori cell.

Origami acoustics: using principles of folding structural acoustics for simple and large focusing of sound energy

Fixed in spatial distribution, arrays of planar, electromechanical acoustic transducers cannot adapt their wave energy focusing abilities unless each transducer is externally controlled, creating challenges for the implementation and portability of such beamforming systems. Recently, planar, origami-based structural tessellations are found to facilitate great versatility in system function and properties through kinematic folding. In this research we bridge the physics of acoustics and origami-based design to discover that the simple topological reconfigurations of a Miura-ori-based acoustic array yield many orders of magnitude worth of reversible change in wave energy focusing: a potential for acoustic field morphing easily obtained through deployable, tessellated architectures. Our experimental and theoretical studies directly translate the roles of folding the tessellated array to the adaptations in spectral and spatial wave propagation sensitivities for far field energy transmission. It is shown that kinematic folding rules and flat-foldable tessellated arrays collectively provide novel solutions to the long-standing challenges of conventional, electronically-steered acoustic beamformers. While our examples consider sound radiation from the foldable array in air, linear acoustic reciprocity dictates that the findings may inspire new innovations for acoustic receivers, e.g. adaptive sound absorbers and microphone arrays, as well as concepts that include water-borne waves.

A review of origami applications in mechanical engineering

This is an overview of current research in origami applied to mechanical engineering. Fundamental concepts and definitions commonly used in origami are introduced, including a background on key mathematical origami findings. An outline of applications in mechanical engineering is presented. The foundation of an origami-based design procedure and software that is currently available to aid in design are also described. The goal of this review is to introduce the subject to mechanical engineers who may not be familiar with it, and encourage future origami-based design and applications.

Lattice mechanics of origami tessellations.

Origami-based design holds promise for developing materials whose mechanical properties are tuned by crease patterns introduced to thin sheets. Although there have been heuristic developments in constructing patterns with desirable qualities, the bridge between origami and physics has yet to be fully developed. To truly consider origami structures as a class of materials, methods akin to solid mechanics need to be developed to understand their long-wavelength behavior. We introduce here a lattice theory for examining the mechanics of origami tessellations in terms of the topology of their crease pattern and the relationship between the folds at each vertex. This formulation provides a general method for associating mechanical properties with periodic folded structures and allows for a concrete connection between more conventional materials and the mechanical metamaterials constructed using origami-based design.

Origami-like creases in sheet materials for compliant mechanism design

Abstract. The purpose of this research is to evaluate the creasing of non-paper sheet materials, such as plastics and metals, to facilitate origami-based compliant mechanism design. Although it is anticipated that most origami-based design will result from surrogate folds (indirect methods of replacing the crease), it is valuable to provide information that may help in more direct approaches for origami-based design in materials other than paper. Planar sheets of homogeneous material are considered as they maintain the principles fundamental to origami (flat initial state, low cost, readily available). The reduced stiffness along the axis of the crease is an enabling characteristic of origami. Hence a metric based on the deformation of the crease compared to the deformation of the panels enables engineering materials to be evaluated based on their ability to achieve the "hinge-like" behavior observed in folded paper. Advantages of both high and low values of this metric are given. Testing results (hinge indexes, residual angles, localized hinge behavior and cyclic creasing to failure) are presented for various metals and polymers. This methodology and subsequent findings are provided to enable origami-based design of compliant mechanisms.