Bistable-to-Monostable Magnetic Hinge

Summary

As the name implies, the bistable-to-monostable hinge is derived from a bistable hinge termed the "simple bistable" hinge (ASME IDETC publication will be posted soon). The hinge belongs to genre of hinges capable of folding 180 degrees with a bias back to the deployed state. The hinge is particularly well-suited to the split-vertex method.

The hinge was intended as a concept for actuating and stabilizing deployable antennas, but it also makes a great fidget toy!

Assembly

The hinges are made from spinnaker tape.

Hinges are reinforced by taping in the stowed then deployed state.

Magnets can be found here.

Learn More

This design was developed by the Compliant Mechanisms Research Group (CMR) from Brigham Young University (BYU). Follow us at @byucmr on Instagram or visit the BYU Compliant Mechanisms Research (CMR) website to learn more about compliant mechanisms.

Technical Information

To learn more about compliant mechanisms, see the BYU Compliant Mechanisms Research (CMR) website or these books: Compliant Mechanisms, Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms 

Intellectual Property 

The downloadable 3D print files provided here may be used, modified, and enjoyed for noncommercial use. To license this technology for commercial applications, contact:

BYU Technology Transfer Office

3760 Harold B. Lee Library

Brigham Young University 

Provo, UT 84602

Phone: (801) 422-6266

https://techtransfer.byu.edu/contact