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Recent Studies at the Faculty of Design
Recent studies at the Faculty of Design in 2023
Recent Studies at Faculty of Design

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Innovation in manufacturing inspired by Origami and Insects

Department of Human Life Design and Science, Faculty of Design
SAITO Kazuya, Associate Professor

Legendary American businessman James Webb Young said, "An idea is nothing more nor less than a new combination of old elements." When thinking about new combinations in research and design, I pay particular attention to traditional techniques and living things. This is because things that have been used for a long time always have a special meaning. My favorites are origami and insects.

Origami × Design

Origami which enables the creation of complex three-dimensional structures simply by "folding" from a flat surface, has been researched all over the world and applied to design in various fields. The most famous example is the Miura-ori solar panel equipped on the satellite launched by JAXA in 1995. I am researching the fabrication of structures with various functions using periodic origami patterns called origami tessellation or fold cores. Fig. 1 shows a method of making a honeycomb core with a complicated three-dimensional shape from a single sheet, which is called the origami production method. Ordinary honeycomb cores have hexagonal columns that stand vertically. Using this technique, we manufactured the oblique honeycomb with 45-degree tilted hexagonal columns and designed a partition that controls the line of sight and the reflection and transmission of light [1, 2] (Fig. 2).

Fig.1　Origami production method of honeycomb core. Normally, honeycomb cores are manufactured by bonding metal foils. This method enables to make an arbitral 3D honeycomb core by inserting slits and bending from a crease pattern designed based on an objective shape.

Fig. 2　Oblique honeycomb partition (Paper Lab, 3rd floor, Building 8, Ohashi campus). The inside is visible when viewed from a corner; on the other hand, it cannot be seen from the front. ( photography: Yashiro photo office)

Insect × Design

Insects are the most successful terrestrial organisms. In the course of evolution, they have taken on all sorts of technical challenges and found answers through tremendous trial and error. Wing folding, which I am studying, is one of them [3-5]. Techniques for compactly folding large structures are required for various scales and purposes. Biomimetics is a field of study that aims at technological innovation by learning from the superior mechanisms of living organisms. In my laboratory, biomimetic engineering is practiced in three phases: observation, modeling, and imitation. Figs.3-5 show examples of designing a new deployable structure by learning the wing folding of the earwig [5]. Here, insects teach us the answer to the technical problem of achieving both compactness and strength, and rigidity when unfolded.

When talking about biomimetics, researchers tend to focus on insects with flashy movements and appearances. However, the bodies of ubiquitous insects are also equipped with mysterious devices, hiding hints for innovation. On Instagram of the laboratory [6], we post images and videos taken with a high-definition microscope, focusing on insects and plants that can be seen on the Ohashi Campus. If you are interested, please follow us.

Fig.3 In the observation phase, we make full use of equipment such as digital microscopes, X-ray micro-CT scanners, and high-speed cameras to examine the shapes and movements of living organisms. (Left) A folded earwig hindwing imaged with a micro-CT scanner. Complex frames are aligned without interfering with each other. (Right) Wings of an earwig observed with a 4K digital microscope.

Fig.4 In the modeling phase, patterns with functions are extracted from the shape of the organism and design methods are established. In most cases, it does not work well to imitate the shape of the living thing as it is. Various applications are possible by clarifying the underlying principles using geometry and mathematics. The figure shows an example of geometric analysis of the folding pattern of the hind wings of earwigs.

Fig. 5 In the imitation (manufacturing) phase, the bioinspired products are actually designed. Prototyping is performed using digital fabrication equipment such as 3D printers and laser cutters. (Upper) “Osakemushi” (Kazuya Saito, Ryuei Shibata, Shoichi Nakamoto, Suzusan Zaimokuten, VUILD ARCHITECTS). A light truck stall with an earwig-inspired deployable roof. (Bottom) Paper earwig folding fan.

Fig. 6　 Familiar creatures observed with a 4K digital microscope. Various other images and videos are available on the laboratory's Instagram.

References

1. K. Saito, A. Fujimoto, Y. Okabe (2022) Constructing Three-Dimensional Honeycomb Structures Based on Origami Geometry, ASME Journal of Mechanisms and Robotics, 21-1315

2. K. Saito, M. Iwamoto, S. Nakamoto, M. Tamegai (2021) Development of the Oblique Honeycomb Cores Base on Origami Geometry and Verification of Its Visual Effects, Transactions of the Japan Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, 31(3), 160-171.

3. K. Saito, S. Yamamoto, M. Maruyama and Y. Okabe, Asymmetric hindwing folding in rove beetles, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci., 111(46), pp. 16349-16352, 2014.

4. K. Saito, T. Tomohiro, T. Fujikawa, R. Niiyama and Y. Kawahara, Deployable Structures Inspired by Insect Wing Foldingm, in Origami 7 : Proceedings from the seventh meeting of Origami, Science, Mathematics, and Education, Vol. 3, 747-762, 2018.

5. K. Saito, R. Perez-De La Fuente, K. Arimoto, Y. Ah Seong, H. Aonuma, R. Niiyama, and Z. You, Earwig fan designing: Biomimetic and evolutionary biology applications. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(30), 17622-17626, 2020.

6. https://www.instagram.com/origami.biomimetics/

■Contact
Department of Human Life Design and Science, Faculty of Design
SAITO Kazuya, Associate Professor