Constant Thickness Flashers

What is this?

Thickness accommodation is one of the most significant challenges in
creating an origami flasher array. For rigid-panel arrays, the challenge is even more complicated. These models are examples of accommodation techniques that yield origami-inspired mechanisms of constant thickness and high-volume efficiency.

Printing Instructions

This model is best printed in PETG, or some other similarly flexible material (PLA works fine). The model, at its current scaling, is intended to be printed with two 0.1mm layers as the base. This ensures that all folds have two overlapping layers of filament on which to bend (printing with a single 0.2mm thick bottom layer will mean that some of the hinges may break very easily). Here is a tutorial on how to modify individual layer heights in PrusaSlicer.

You're welcome to experiment with printing the first two layers out of a more flexible material, and then printing the remaining layers with something stiffer. PLA worked fine for the three demos we made. See this post for a tutorial on how to make your own living hinges.

Learn More

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

Technical Information

These models were presented by Larry Howell at the 8th International Meeting on Origami in Science, Mathematics and Education (8OSME), and were developed in a paper authored by Hunter Pruett, Spencer Magleby and Larry Howell.

For more in-depth technical information, look forward to the upcoming publication of that paper. It will be linked here as soon as it becomes publicly available.

Intellectual Property

The downloadable 3D print files provided here may be used, modified, and enjoyed for noncommercial use. To license developable mechanism 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