8. Soft robotics¶

References & Inspiration¶

Wingsuit¶

During my research, I came across an image of skydiving. It’s a wink because I was a skydiver for many years. I have never felt like a squirrel...

Image: Pinterest

STUDIO DRIFT¶

In 2015 I visited the museum of Amsterdam and I was mesmerized by the installation of this studio in an imense classical style staircase.

"Five calyxes perform a mechanical ballet, opening and closing. In this light sculpture Studio Drift combines nature's changing movements with advanced robotand light technology. The calyxesare made of many layers of silk. In turn they unfold in all their glory only to retreattimidly, like flowers closing up at night.'

aluminium, stainless steel, silk, LED, robotics, 2014

Studio Drift's website

Wood that breathes¶

The HygroSkin – Meteorosensitive Pavilion (2011–2013), designed by Achim Menges in collaboration with Oliver David Krieg and Steffen Reichert, explores a novel approach to climate-responsive architecture. Inspired by spruce cones, whose scales open and close passively in response to humidity, the pavilion harnesses the intrinsic properties of wood to adapt to humidity changes—without requiring operational energy or mechanical/electronic controls. The pavilion’s wooden skin, composed of modular units, autonomously opens and closes in response to weather conditions, fostering a continuous interaction between interior and exterior spaces.

Components are shaped through the elastic bending of plywood sheets and assembled into a lightweight yet robust structure. The precision of the process was confirmed by laser scans, showing an average deviation of less than 0.5 mm between the digital model and the physical result.

HygroSkin_2_03 Permanent Collection, FRAC Centre Orleans, France, 2011-13 Achim Menges in collaboration with Oliver David Krieg and Steffen Reichert PROJECT TEAM Achim Menges Architect, Frankfurt Achim Menges, Steffen Reichert, Boyan Mihaylov (Project Development, Design Development) Institute for Computational Design, University of Stuttgart

Tools¶

3D volumes: Sketchup
3D nesting: Prusaslicer
2D drawings: Illustrator
Production lasercut: Beam Studio
Thermo-adhesiv vinyl
Baking paper
Japanese paper
PLA filaments for 3D printer
Hot press

The 101 of inflatable¶

Drawing: Annabel Fournier

When I document myself, I love that the texts are illustrated for the basics. Here is my contribution for this week!

1. Cut forms in bakink paper
2. Add small pieces of baking parchment from shape to shape, and add a piece about 5 mm towards the outside to let the air pass.
3. Deposit them on **MATT-SIDE** thermo-adhesive film.
4. Add on another film **MATT-SIDE** on **MATT-SIDE**.
5. Press with hot-press (without steam) at 150 C° / 15''
6. Leave to cool then gently loosen the 2 transparent plastic films.
7. Cut around to about 1 cm. Use a pump with a small tip to insufflate air through the intended passage.

Process and workflow¶

First steps¶

I wanted to use the shapes already used in node parametrics. This star scattering was carried out in Illustrator using the 'Create a pattern' tool. The stars are superimposed by their points with a diamond-shaped distribution.

This semi stars ¹ was obtained by Illustrator

This semi stars² was obtained by SVG for laser cutting nesting

The SVG file is imported into Beam Studio. The baking paper is cut in the lasercut with S20-P20. As the paper flies away with the air brush, I first cut out the details, then the outline.

I chose to produce a larger star by treating the tips like edges. The result of the inflation is not very interesting because it does not produce a particular action, the star remains inflated but flat.

This schematic ³ was obtained by Illustrator This schematic ⁴ was obtained by SVG for laser cutting nesting

Researchs¶

While walking around the GreenFabric, I found leaves of the bicentennial oak from the park next door. I tried to use them as a mask but the stems of the leaves pierced the film. The painter’s tape also stuck on both sides. But nothing is lost, I associated the search for the star and the oak leaf.

I tested 14 different designs that combine aesthetics and movement. I am looking for torsion or retraction. Each side as a different vinyl. The shinny pink is thiner and the blue is a 10 (To be descript soon). The blue is perfect for peeling it. The plastic sheet gets of very easily.

The oak 'Joséphine' of Parc Jacques Brel coud be the oldest tree of Brussels are

Results¶

Very nice moments and funny to do. The result is quite bluffing for some, others more shy.

This schematic ⁵ was obtained by Illustrator This schematic ⁶ was obtained by SVG for laser cutting nesting

https://youtube.com/shorts/

Large stars¶

I chose 2 designs. The 1 for its twist and the 11 for its spectacular effect of retraction. I have a good surprise because my leaf looks like an oak leaf!

This schematic ⁷ was obtained by using Illustrator

This tutorial ⁸ was created in SVG for your nesting of lasercutting

Paper grip¶

Kresling pattern¶

The Kresling pattern allows for an expandable cylinder and is widely used in robotics. ImageI created a hexagon in Sketchup, exported to STL to import it into Prusaslider to print 2 hexagons in PLA. Then, I fold out diagonally folded paper rectangles.

Pinterest inspiration, Projet: Glaucio Paulino - OrigamiLab

Paper: japanese paper 110g The Hexagone ⁹ was obtained by Sketchup The paper cutting path ⁵ was obtained by Illustrator

Miura origami fold gripper¶

I found a pationnant article on biomimicry and Miura Origami. All the legends come from the article.

Miura origami fold gripper

Pictures of the biological role models studied and drawings of their crease pattern on top of the unfolded state. (a) Presents a Coccinellidae unfolding its wings (© Flickr, Nikk, CC BY 2.0). (b) Image of a Blaptica dubia wing. (c) Displays the wing folding pattern of a Coccinella septempunctata based on drawings from Saito et al. who performed microcomputed tomographyof the wing to view the folded state. (d) Shows the folding pattern of the Blaptica dubia wing drawn over a photograph.

Miura-ori tessellation adapted from Miura. (a) Shows one unit cell of the Miura-ori pattern; (b) presents how this cell can be duplicated. The arrows display actuation mechanisms to unfold the patterns.

This figure shows the different patterns studied during this research. The numbers starting with a 1 are adapted from the insect wings inspired pattern. The ones starting with a 2 are variations of the Miura-ori pattern.

The folding pattern (#105a) presented in (a) was made from mirroring #104 along the green dash line and keeping this axis as a valley fold. (b) Displays the facing vertices or nodes blocking the folding process.

Result¶

The result is OK, but it does't hold a lot of weight!

Tools to fold and cut.

Paper: japanese paper 110g

This schematic ¹⁰ was obtcopied by illustrator

Silicone grip¶

We reused existing molds and cast silicone in both parts. After a day of drying, we used silicone to assemble the 2 parts. Unfortunately, the silicone did not stick properly. We should find some special glue.

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Fabrication files¶

Images and drawings: Annabel Fournier unless otherwise stated

File: Semi stars in Illustrator ↩
File: Semi stars in SVG ↩
File: Single star in Illustrator ↩
File: Single star in svg ↩
File: Kreisling papaer cuting SVG ↩↩
File: Leafs in SVG ↩
File: Star with actions in illustrator ↩
File: Star with actions in SVG ↩
File: Hexagone in STL ↩
File: Miura in svg ↩