Spencer P. Magleby

Brigham Young University | BYU · Department of Mechanical Engineering

Lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) are fabricated from planar materials (lamina) and have motion that emerges out of the fabrication plane. LEMs provide an opportunity to create compact, cost-effective devices that are capable of accomplishing sophisticated mechanical tasks. They offer the advantages of planar fabrication, a flat initial state (comp...

Several methods have been developed to accommodate for the use of thick materials in origami models which preserve either the model's full range of motion or its kinematics. The offset panel technique (OPT) preserves both the range of motion and the kinematics while allowing for a great deal of flexibility in design. This work explores new possibil...

The ancient art of origami has several attributes that are desirable in the design of engineered products such as deployability, stowability, and flat sheet manufacturing. Origami-adapted design aspires to transform the characteristics of an origami paper model into a usable product while maintaining functionality. Engineers have managed to design...

Origami has served as the inspiration for a number of engineered systems. In most cases, they require nonpaper materials where material thickness is non-negligible. Foldable mechanisms based on origami-like forms present special challenges for preserving kinematics and assuring non-self-intersection when the thickness of the panels must be accommod...

Design parameters of the origami flasher pattern can be modified to meet a variety of design objectives for deployable array applications. The focus of this paper is to improve understanding of design parameters, objectives, and trade offs of origami flasher pattern configurations. Emphasis is placed on finite-thickness flasher models that would en...

The fused filament fabrication 3D printer is growing in popularity amongst designers. When manufacturing actuating mechanisms, however, it can often be difficult to use 3D printers to achieve desired behavior. Two essential areas of active mechanisms — compliant mechanisms and origami-based mechanisms — are explored in this paper. The design of com...

The increase in participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields has not been uniform. In mechanical engineering, the proportion of women who participate in the profession at all levels is disproportionately low. One factor identified by education researchers that has the potential to draw higher numbers of...

Deployable space structures that incorporate thin, flexible solar cells allow for innovative designs that are capable of high stowing efficiency. The purpose of this work is to present compliant stepped-beam analysis approaches that apply to deployable space structures with flexible panels connected with thin sheets and determine their deflection a...

Many deployable satellite systems benefit from having low mass and high surface area, which has led to the proliferation of gossamer structures in space-based applications. Gossamer structures are characterized by lightweight, low stiffness membranes, which can flex and roll to compactly stow. An effect of rolling a gossamer structure is that there...

Origami-inspired mechanisms provide opportunities for deployable systems, including reflectarray antennas. There is a need for approaches to deploy and stabilize such arrays. Magnetic mechanisms show promise for meeting those needs and how methods for modelling their behaviour would facilitate their design and analysis. We demonstrate the existence...

This paper proposes a method for increasing the impact of academic research by providing materials for public use, thus engaging the maker community, and by collaborating with internet content creators to extend the reach. We propose a framework for engagement and report a multi-year study that evaluates short, intermediate, and long-term outcomes,...

Orthoplanar springs are single-component compliant mechanisms that can be fabricated from sheet material and undergo deflection orthogonal to the plane of the mechanism. They are useful in applications where spatial constraints are significant. An Euler spiral is a curve whose curvature is linearly proportional to the arc length allowing for the cu...

Origami-inspired design principles — including thickness accommodation techniques, surrogate folds, and a rare use of nonrigid panels — are applied here in a novel foldable furniture item known as the Hidey Cube for use in a daycare facility. Each of the design principles is applied to develop the Hidey Cube and to help it meet its design objective...

Performance of space-based optics could be greatly enhanced by using deployable origami-based arrays, which can offer a large aperture size relative to their stowed volume when compared to traditional technology, thus improving imaging quality. In this work, we select, develop, and adapt the origami flasher pattern to serve as the foundation for a...

Origami is increasingly popular in engineering for its ability to deploy to a large area from a compact volume. In addition to its circular nature and fixed central polygon, the origami Flasher pattern has several advantages that make it a desirable candidate for many deployable systems, including space applications such as LiDaR telescopes, solar...

Fiber-reinforced composites have potential advantages for manufacturing origami arrays. However, methods for manufacturing large origami arrays using composite materials are complex, time-consuming, and expensive. This research proposes two processes for synthesizing origami-based arrays, each made using fiber-reinforced composites and requiring on...

Five genres of magnetic hinge concepts are presented; a simple bistable magnetic hinge, a monostable magnetic hinge from the simple bistable magnetic hinge, a hinge based on diametrically magnetized gears, a hinge composed of pairs of magnets, and a hinge based on the strategic placement of a single pair of cuboid magnets. Particular focus is given...

Resorbable materials – or materials which diffuse into their surroundings – present a promising means of actuating mechanical systems. In current practice, such as in the realm of in vivo surgical devices, resorbable materials are intended to perform a temporary function and completely dissolve when that function is completed (e.g., resorbable sutu...

Small-scale flexible (or compliant) mechanisms are valuable in replacing rigid components while retaining comparable motion and behavior. However, fabricating such mechanisms on this scale (from 0.01 to 10 cm) proves difficult, especially with thin sheet metals. The manufacturing method of laser forming, which uses a laser to cut and bend metal int...

Deployable origami-based arrays can offer many benefits for a wide variety of engineering applications. However, alignment in the deployed state is a primary challenge of these arrays; in optical systems, local (single panel) and global (entire array) misalignment can drastically reduce performance. The objective of this work is to compare the rela...

Traditional high-gain antennas, like parabolic reflectors and phased arrays, are challenging to implement on small satellites (SmallSats) due to their reduced volume when stowed for launch. Therefore, a deployable volume-efficient Miura-ori (VEMO) reflectarray aperture is presented that achieves high gain (35.3 dBi) and high volume efficiency (96%)...

This paper presents a systematic approach for selecting an origami source pattern for deployable space array applications, followed by two case studies used to demonstrate the selection process. Applying origami principles to form engineering solutions can be a difficult task. Competing requirements may create confusion around which pattern is most...

Deployable origami arrays have been used to increase the aperture areas of spacecraft instruments. Folds within these patterns allow the arrays to fold compactly, but can also cause un-desired folding when in the deployed state. In addition, there is a need to deploy them with mechanisms that are light and small. This paper introduces a strain-ener...

Origami-inspired mechanisms can produce compact, easily-manufacturable designs. Compliant mechanisms have been used to create surrogate folds in many kinds of engineering materials by allowing large deflections without yielding. LET arrays are best used as surrogate folds when the regions being folded on each other have parallel sides, keeping the...

In this paper we develop techniques for designing stable flat-foldable wooden furniture. Thickness-accommodation techniques used to enable folding of origami from thick materials are shown to also be applicable to wood. Specifically, wood may be used in (and is stable in) the unique load-bearing conditions of vertical lamina emergent torsional (LET...

Design projects in childcare settings present unique design challenges because of their function, size, and specific safety concerns. In selecting effective childcare furniture, stowage space, safety, and ease of access for childcare furniture are important considerations. Origami-inspired design can be useful in addressing these issues in an innov...

The hexagonal twist origami pattern has characteristics that made it a candidate for next-generation deployable space arrays. It has a deployed area that is up to 3.3 times larger than the stowed area, has a single-degree-of-freedom which simplifies actuation, it is flat-foldable making flat positions possible in both stowed and deployed positions,...

Microwave absorbers have been used to mitigate signal interference, and to shield electromagnetic systems. Two different types of absorbers have been presented: (a) low-cost narrowband absorbers that are simple to manufacture, and (b) expensive wideband microwave absorbers that are based on complex designs. In fact, as designers try to increase the...

The Miura-ori pattern exhibits favorable qualities desirable for deployable space arrays — especially achieving a large deployed area from a compact stowed volume. However, implementing the Miura-ori into a finite-thickness, engineered system poses challenges that are not manifest in a zero-thickness model. As such, it is important to understand an...

Trends in the aerospace industry are driving payloads to be smaller and less expensive while yet delivering comparatively large antennas. Deployable reflectarray antennas are often used to meet these demands. The more that a deployable reflectarray fills an allotted volume in the stowed state, the greater the surface area it will realize in the dep...

Origami patterns have been used in the design of deploy- able arrays. In engineering applications, paper creases are often replaced with surrogate folds by providing a hinge-like function to enable motion. Overconstraint ob- served in multi-vertex origami patterns combined with imperfect manufacturing may cause the resulting mech- anisms to bind. T...

This paper proposes a novel origami-inspired adult diaper design that improves discretion by reducing sag and increasing wicking across the entire diaper pad. While other diapers rely on supporting elastics to reduce the sag of the diaper as a whole, this paper proposes an absorbent core that uses liquid activated shaping to take a specified shape....

In this paper, a novel deployable flat panel reflectarray antenna (RA) is designed on an origami folding pattern for Small Satellite applications. The RA aperture deploys into a hexagonal geometry that achieves an aperture efficiency of a least 60%, 10-20% higher than current rectangular apertures. The modified hexagonal twist folding structure can...

The field of foldable and physically reconfigurable antennas has recently attracted significant interest from diverse scientific communities, including researchers on antennas, material science, mechanical engineering and numerical modeling. Deployable, packable and multifunctional systems are very important for many applications, including satelli...

Deployable Euler Spiral Connectors (DESCs) are introduced as compliant deployable flexures that can span gaps between segments in a mechanism and then lay flat when under strain in a stowed position. This paper presents models of Euler spiral beams combined in series and parallel that can be used to design compact compliant mechanisms. Constraints...

Although energy-based methods have advantages over the Newtonian methods for kinetostatic modeling, the geometric nonlinearities inherent in deflections of compliant mechanisms preclude most of the energy-based theorems. Castigliano's first theorem and the Crotti-Engesser theorem, which don't require the problem being solved to be linear, are selec...

Mechanisms that can both deploy and provide motions to perform desired tasks offer a multifunctional advantage over traditional mechanisms. Developable mechanisms (DMs) are devices capable of conforming to a predetermined developable surface and deploying from that surface to achieve specific motions. This paper builds on the previously identified...

Principles that guide the design of bistable linkages have traditionally not considered link shape or surrounding geometry. We present a resource for designing bistable developable mechanisms (BDMs) that reach their second stable positions while exterior or interior to a cylindrical surface. Analysis of the necessary conditions to create extramobil...

Cylindrical developable mechanisms are devices that conform to and emerge from a cylindrical surface. These mechanisms can be formed or cut from the cylinder wall itself. This paper presents a study on adapting traditional hinge options to achieve revolute motion in these mechanisms. A brief overview of options is given, including classical pin hin...

Flexible segments present challenges to prototyping compliant mechanisms. This paper discusses methods for prototyping compliant mechanisms, including use of 3-axis CNC milling, laser cutting, and wire EDM. Rapid prototyping methods and hybrid methods are also discussed. A method for machining living hinge prototypes with good fatigue life is also...

An origami-based foldable and reconfigurable Reflectarray Antenna (RA) with multiple apertures is proposed for CubeSat applications. The proposed configuration consists of a central RA embedded in folding panels using Lamina Emergent Torsional (LET) joints based on compliant mechanisms. Depending on the folding direction of these panels (forward or...

This work develops and presents design concepts and models of thickness-utilizing deployable hard stops (ThUDS) which can be incorporated into origami-based design applications to provide stability in specific fold states. A ThUDS, like a lamina-emergent mechanism, emerges from a flat state and can reside within a sheet. A variety of planar and sph...

Cylindrical developable mechanisms are devices that conform to and emerge from a cylindrical surface. These mechanisms can be formed or cut from the cylinder wall itself. This paper presents a study on adapting traditional hinge options to achieve revolute motion in these mechanisms. A brief overview of options is given, including classical pin hin...

This paper presents tools and methods to design cylindrical and conical developable mechanisms from flat, planar patterns. Equations are presented that relate the link lengths and link angles of planar and spherical mechanisms to the dimensions in a flat configuration. These flat patterns can then be formed into curved, developable mechanisms. Guid...

Mechanisms that can both deploy and perform desired tasks offer a multifunctional advantage over traditional mechanisms. Developable mechanisms (DMs) are devices capable of conforming to a predetermined developable surface and deploying from that surface to achieve specific motions. This paper presents new terminology that defines motion of develop...

An approach for designing developable mechanisms on a conical surface is presented. By aligning the joint axes of spherical mechanisms to the ruling lines, the links can be created in a way that the mechanism conforms to a conical surface. Terminology is defined for mechanisms mapped onto a right cone. Models are developed to describe the motion of...

Spacecraft with large arrays sometimes have deployed sizes that are much larger than the launch volumes; in this case, deployable arrays are used. Several methods exist for stowing, deploying, and stiffening large space arrays. Often these functions are performed by separate systems. This work presents a novel array system that integrates these fun...

The concept of a statically balanced mechanism with a single rotational degree of freedom is presented. The proposed device achieves static balancing by combining positive stiffness elements and negative stiffness elements within an annular domain. Two designs are discussed. The first is composed of an Archimedean spiral and two pinned-pinned pre-b...

Developable mechanisms on regular cylindrical surfaces can be described using cyclic quadrilaterals. Mechanisms can exist in either an open or crossed configuration, and these configurations correspond to convex and crossed cyclic quadrilaterals. Using equations developed for both convex and crossed cyclic quadrilaterals, the geometry of the refere...

In many origami-based applications a device needs to be maintained in one or more fold states. The origami stability integration method (OSIM) presented in this paper provides an approach for graphically combining various techniques to achieve stability. Existing stability techniques are also categorized into four groups based on whether they are i...

Lamina emergent torsion (LET) joints for use in origami-based applications enables folding of panels. Placing LET joints in series and parallel (formulating LET arrays) opens the design space to provide for tunable stiffness characteristics in other directions while maintaining the ability to fold. Analytical equations characterizing the elastic lo...

We present new families of thick origami mechanisms that achieve rigid foldability and parallel stacking of panels in the flat-folded state using linkages for some or all of the hinges between panels. A degree-four vertex results in a multi-loop eight-bar spatial mechanism that can be analyzed as separate linkages. The individual linkages are desig...

This paper reports the study of a planar Cross-Axis Flexural Pivot (CAFP) comprising an additional contact pair. The proposed device may be useful for applications requiring a revolute joint that behaves differently when deflecting clockwise/anti-clockwise. The presence of the contact pair reduces the free length of one flexures, resulting in a con...

This paper presents the development of an origami-inspired support system (the OriGuide) that enables the insertion of flexible instruments using medical robots. Varying parameters of a triangulated cylindrical origami pattern were combined to create an effective highly-compressible antibuckling system that maintains a constant inner diameter for s...

Developable mechanisms can provide high functionality and compact stowability. This paper presents engineering models to aid in the design of cylindrical developable mechanisms. These models take into account the added spatial restrictions imposed by the developable surface. Equations are provided for the kinematic analysis of cylindrical developab...

The regional-sandwiching of compliant sheets (ReCS) technique presented in this work creates flat-foldable, rigid-foldable, and self-deploying thick origami-based mechanisms. Regional-sandwiching of the compliant sheet is used to create mountain/valley assignments for each fold about a vertex, constraining motion to a single branch of folding. Stra...

Deployable Euler Spiral Connectors (DESCs) are introduced as a way to use compliant flexures that lay flat when under strain in a stowed position. This paper presents the design of DESCs using the Euler spiral equations. An application of a spinal device is presented as a proof-of-concept of the use of DESCs.

In many origami-based applications a device needs to be maintained in one or more fold states. The origami stability integration method (OSIM) presented in this paper provides an approach for graphically combining various techniques to achieve stability. Techniques are divided into four groups based on whether they are intrinsic or extrinsic to the...

Since 2004, Brigham Young University has offered a graduate study abroad course in mechanical engineering to help prepare students to be leaders in globally-influenced product development organizations. The course is offered as a study abroad program where faculty lead a group of students across several countries to learn about global product devel...

Developable mechanisms conform to and emerge from developable, or specially curved, surfaces. The cylindrical developable mechanism can have applications in many industries due to the popularity of cylindrical or tube-based devices. Laparoscopic surgical devices in particular are widely composed of instruments attached at the proximal end of a cyli...

We present new families of thick origami mechanisms that achieve rigid foldability and parallel stacking of panels in the flat-folded state using linkages for some or all of the hinges between panels. A degree-four vertex results in a multi-loop eight-bar spatial mechanism that can be analyzed as separate linkages. The individual linkages are desig...

The potential of compliant mechanisms and related origami-based mechanical systems to store strain energy make them ideal candidates for applications requiring an actuation or deployment process, such as space system arrays, minimally invasive surgical devices and deployable barriers. Many origami structures can be thought of as a compliant mechani...

Stopping origami in arbitrary fold states can present a challenge for origami-based design. In this paper two categories of kirigami-based models are presented for stopping the fold motion of individual creases using deployable hard stops. These models are transcrease (across a crease) and deploy from a flat sheet. The first category is planar and...

The regional-sandwiching of compliant sheets (ReCS) technique presented in this work creates flat-foldable, rigid-foldable, and self-deploying thick origami-based mechanisms. Regional-sandwiching of the compliant sheet is used to create mountain/valley assignments for each fold about a vertex, constraining motion to a single branch of folding. Stra...