A self-folding method that can fold a thick (~10 μm) metal layer with a large curvature (>1 mm−1) and is resistant to repetitive folding deformation is proposed. Given the successful usage of hinged origami/kirigami structures forms in deployable structures, they show strong potential for application in stretchable electronic devices. There are, however, two key difficulties in applying origami/kirigami methods to stretchable electronic devices. The first is that a thick metal layer used as the conductive layer of electronic devices is too hard for self-folding as it is. Secondly, a thick metal layer breaks on repetitive folding deformation at a large curvature. To overcome these difficulties, this paper proposes a self-folding method using hinges on a thick metal layer by applying a meander structure. Such a structure can be folded at a large curvature even by weak driving forces (such as those produced by self-folding) and has mechanical resistance to repetitive folding deformation due to the local torsional deformation of the meander structure. To verify the method, the large curvature self-folding of thick metal layers and their mechanical resistance to repetitive folding deformation is experimentally demonstrated. In addition, an origami/kirigami hybrid stretchable electronic device with light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is fabricated using a double-tiling structure called the perforated extruded Miura-ori.

Insects have acquired various types of wings over their course of evolution and have become the most successful terrestrial animals. Consequently, the essence of their excellent environmental adaptability and locomotive ability should be clarified; a simple and versatile method to artificially reproduce the complex structure and various functions of these innumerable types of wings is necessary. This study presents a simple integral forming method for an insect-wing-type composite structure by 3D printing wing frames directly onto thin films. The artificial venation generation algorithm based on the centroidal Voronoi diagram, which can be observed in the wings of dragonflies, was used to design the complex mechanical properties of artificial wings. Furthermore, we implemented two representative functions found in actual insect wings: folding and coupling. The proposed crease pattern design software developed based on a beetle hindwing enables the 3D printing of foldable wings of any shape. In coupling-type wings, the forewing and hindwing are connected to form a single large wing during flight; these wings can be stored compactly by disconnecting and stacking them like cicada wings.

Despite the recent trend of computational origami for human-computer interaction (HCI) and digital fabrication, it is still difficult for designers to complete a series of design, simulation, and fabrication of objects leveraging computational origami theory. In this paper, we propose Crane, an integrated origami design platform implemented with Grasshopper. With this platform, users can seamlessly (1) design the 2D and 3D crease pattern, (2) simulate 3D folding transformation from the given crease pattern, (3) inversely find a new pattern under design constraints, (4) thicken the 2D pattern into a 3D volume along with the appropriate hinge structures for different fabrication methods, and (5) optionally connect the resulting design to other Rhinoceros or Grasshopper plugins for post-processes. To help understand how to use our system and demonstrate its feasibility, we showed three examples of origami products designed using our system. We also reported user feedback from the workshop as an evaluation.

This paper presents a novel origami-based portable deployable canopy system developed using fiber reinforced plastics. A modular system composed of multiple developable strips is proposed to provide a one degree-of-freedom deployment motion from a flat-folded state to a fully deployed state. Each strip is comprised of panels with embedded compliant hinges whose pattern is created in a planar configuration through the laying out of prepreg composite sheets and multi-step curing. The design process of a canopy using this system is demonstrated herein. To capture the complex behaviors and functionality, the design process involves developing different analytical models for each step starting with a simplified model and ending with a refined model. In this case, we defined a parametric design family from rigid origami theory and determined preliminary design parameters through a multi-objective optimization (MOO) scheme in order to balance performance against manufacturing constraints. We then applied geometric nonlinear analyses to assess the kinematic behaviors of the folding actions and also the buckling behavior of the structure in its deployed state. The analyses indicated the need for stability improvement, provided using tension elements. The structure was divided into developable parts that can be manufactured in a planar state. With a total mass of 27 kg, the system can be carried by two or three persons and deployed within a minute.