A Hexagonal Prism Folding for Membrane Packaging Based on Concepts of Finite Rigid Motion and Kinematic Synthesis

Abstract

This paper discusses the use of concepts of finite rigid body kinematics as well as kinematic synthesis in non-rigid, engineering folding problems. The exemplary task consists in designing a folding pattern, which allows to fold a circular sheet from a flat unfolded state into a prescribed compact spatial configuration that forms a hexagonal prism. Other two-configuration design problems may be found for instance in space applications where membranes in tensegrity reflector antennas need to be stowed in a spacecraft. The folding motion could be actuated using an appropriately designed linkage mechanism attached to the membrane, which, however, is not considered in this paper. The specific result of this work is a creative but systematic and computational procedure for crease pattern design. The approach is essentially based on the relative kinematics equations of serial kinematic chains and the finite position synthesis of linkage building blocks. These techniques sucessively combine to segment a flat bounded surface, such that it can reach the prescribed spatial configuration.

Design Optimization of Origami-Tunable Frequency Selective Surfaces

“…Pereza-Hernandez et al [21] offers a method to achieve a specified 3D form through the use of smooth folds. Other approaches include a flat foldable 3D polygon design method by Kase et al [22], a flat foldable quadrilateral mesh design method by Feng et al [23], a prism synthesis method by Abdul-Sater [24], and an inverse design method for deployable origami structures by Dang et al [25]. In this study, we develop a design optimization framework to capture both mechanical and electromagnetic (EM) functionality from the robust reconfiguration capability of origami.…”