Origami launcher

Abstract

The article studies the elastic and locomotive properties of Miuraori-type paper origami. The mechanics of a single paper crease is studied experimentally, and its non-elastic properties turn out to be crucial. The entire origami construction is then described as a collection of individual creases, its capability to launch small objects is evaluated, and the equation of motion is found. Thus, the height of the launched ball is studied theoretically and experimentally as a function of governing parameters.

Mechanics of paper-folded origami: A cautionary tale

“…Paper has obvious benefits, with a low bending stiffness enabling easy folding and bending of the material, to achieve a wide variety of shapes [14]. These properties have also enabled origami engineers to rapidly prototype adaptive structures and mechanical metamaterials, facilitating communication [29,18,9] and validation [5,25,12,10].…”