Here's a link to our kickstarter! Help us raise the last bit of money needed to finish our final installation!

Playing WITH FOLDS

To get an appreciation of the scale of the fold we started making some simple Miura folds in 0.4mm polypropylene and paper.

Step two - designing the prototype

Iulian got to work on the driving mechanisms. After a bit of research it was decided on using a belt and turntable bearings to support the fold. The belt drive was chosen for it being smoother and more silent that a cog mechanism. We would use an HTD timing belt for the belt drive. Resources about the how and why can be found here.

The power comes from a NEMA 17 stepper motor. A simple 2 amp stepper motor was chosen for the prototype. A PVC pipe with zip-tied LED strips around it as the supporting arch. The final installation will have a steel core for safety and LEDs. 

For this step we decided to go with a 3D model of the prototype in Solidworks.

For driving the motion we're using a stepper motor with a L298N driver.

Designing the fold

After folding a bit, we started to understand that subtle variations of Miura Ori fold angles would allow to program curvature in the arch. This would allow for much less stress on the bending of the plastic and so we began investigating the complex math behind fold angles and resulting curvature.

THE PROTOTYPE

Building the final Installation!