Using Lamina Emergent Mechanisms to Address Needs for a Space Environment

Utah State University

Technology that will be used in a space environment must meet certain design contraints. These include the ability to endure the harsh environment as well as be efficiently transported. The use of compliance in the design of space technologies addresses some of these issues. Compliant mechanisms are mechanisms which use the deflection of flexible members to achieve a particular motion or transmit energy. The use of deflection allows for the elimination of parts and thus reduces weight. A subset of compliant mechanisms is lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs). They have a flat initial state with motion emerging from the fabrication plane. The purpose of this research was to identify design strategies for LEMs. We propose the use of origami and kirigami for the identification of design strategies since they are essentially LEMs.