The team also tested the system in deployable structures. In one demonstration, they used the Y-Zipper to rapidly assemble a tent-like structure, with the three-sided mechanism serving as both the structural support frame and the joining system. According to the team, setup time dropped from roughly six minutes to one minute and 20 seconds because the zipper effectively snaps the structure into place.
Medical applications are another possible target. The researchers created a wrist-cast prototype that wrapped the mechanism around a wrist cast, allowing users to loosen it during the day for comfort before tightening it again at night for support.
Beyond engineering applications, the system can also produce dynamic moving structures for art and design. One prototype resembled a mechanical flower that “bloomed” as a motor zipped the structure upward.
Researchers find a way to heat 3D printer filament using microwaves, enabling fusing circuits inside printed objects
Your Walmart might be 3D printed; firm building more than a dozen 3D-printed Walmart expansions
Chinese scientists 3D print tiny items in half a second using holographic light fields
Durability testing showed the mechanism surviving roughly 18,000 zip-and-unzip cycles before failure. According to the researchers, the structure’s elastic behavior helps distribute stress across the assembly instead of concentrating it in a single area.
The team evaluated versions of the structure made from popular 3D-printing materials , polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU). PLA handled heavier loads more effectively, while TPU provided greater flexibility. Future versions could use stronger materials such as metal and scale to much larger sizes. Researchers also suggested possible aerospace applications, including deployable spacecraft structures and robotic systems capable of grabbing rock samples during exploration missions.
The work was presented at the ACM Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI) in April and detailed in a paper titled "Y-Zipper: 3D Printing Flexible–Rigid Transition Mechanism for Rapid and Reversible Assembly."
Follow Tom's Hardware on Google News , or add us as a preferred source , to get our latest news, analysis, & reviews in your feeds.
Etiido Uko is an engineer and technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things gadgets, technology, and engineering. ","collapsible":{"enabled":true,"maxHeight":250,"readMoreText":"Read more","readLessText":"Read less"}}), "https://slice.vanilla.futurecdn.net/13-4-23/js/authorBio.js"); } else { console.error('%c FTE ','background: #9306F9; color: #ffffff','no lazy slice hydration function available'); } Etiido Uko Social Links Navigation News Contributor Etiido Uko is an engineer and technical writer with over nine years of experience in documentation and reporting. He is deeply passionate about all things gadgets, technology, and engineering.
Notton Okay, now that's pretty cool. Watching the video, it seems the shape has to be predefined, but can be easily flattened or rolled up for transport. If it can handle twisting loads, it might be good for a crush-able steering column. Reply
deesider turns floppy tentacles into rigid beams in seconds I get a lot of emails about this Reply
Key considerations
- Investor positioning can change fast
- Volatility remains possible near catalysts
- Macro rates and liquidity can dominate flows
Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/mit-researchers-revive-40-year-old-triangular-zipper-concept-now-made-possible-by-3d-printing-creates-shape-shifting-robots-and-deployable-structures-3d-printed-y-zipper-turns-floppy-tentacles-into-rigid-beams-in-seconds#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/subscription
- Arm's $2 billion in AGI CPU sales are still not enough to penetrate 5% of overall market share, analyst reveals — at least $90 million worth of CPUs to be shipp
- Microsoft's massive Kenya AI data center would require switching off 'half the country' to meet power requirements, government says — $1 billion project stalls
- AMD's excellent Radeon RX 9070 with 16 GB of VRAM hits all-time low pricing — PowerColor Hellhound variant is 23% off list price
- Amazon employees admit to using AI unnecessarily to pump up internal usage scores — workers complain of intense pressure to use AI tools
- AI data center project secretly sucked 29 million gallons of water over 15 months before detected by residents complaining about low water pressure — officials
Informational only. No financial advice. Do your own research.