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Digital Mechanical Metamaterials

Published: 02 May 2017 Publication History

Abstract

In this paper, we explore how to embody mechanical computation into 3D printed objects, i.e., without electronic sensors, actuators, or controllers typically used for this purpose. A key benefit of our approach is that the resulting objects can be 3D printed in one piece and thus do not require assembly. We are building on 3D printed cell structures, also known as metamaterials. We introduce a new type of cell that propagates a digital mechanical signal using an embedded bistable spring. When triggered, the embedded spring discharges and the resulting impulse triggers one or more neighboring cells, resulting in signal propagation. We extend this basic mechanism to implement simple logic functions. We demonstrate interactive objects based on this concept, such as a combination lock. We present a custom editor that allows users to model 3D objects, route signals, simulate signal flow, and synthesize cell patterns.

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  1. Digital Mechanical Metamaterials

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    cover image ACM Conferences
    CHI '17: Proceedings of the 2017 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
    May 2017
    7138 pages
    ISBN:9781450346559
    DOI:10.1145/3025453
    Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than the author(s) must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected].

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    Published: 02 May 2017

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    Author Tags

    1. fabrication
    2. metamaterials
    3. programmable matter

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    • (2024)Shaping lace: Machine embroidered metamaterialsProceedings of the 9th ACM Symposium on Computational Fabrication10.1145/3639473.3665792(1-12)Online publication date: 7-Jul-2024
    • (2024)3D-Printed Cells for Creating Variable SoftnessProceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction10.1145/3623509.3635249(1-7)Online publication date: 11-Feb-2024
    • (2024)MorphMatrix: A Toolkit Facilitating Shape-Changing Interface DesignProceedings of the Eighteenth International Conference on Tangible, Embedded, and Embodied Interaction10.1145/3623509.3633383(1-12)Online publication date: 11-Feb-2024
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    • (2024)Waxpaper Actuator: Sequentially and Conditionally Programmable Wax Paper for Morphing InterfacesProceedings of the 2024 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems10.1145/3613904.3642373(1-16)Online publication date: 11-May-2024
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