To bridge the gap between ancient folding traditions and modern mechanical engineering. This course treats paper as a prototype for compliant mechanisms—structures that achieve motion through bending rather than sliding joints.
Textbook:
Origami Paper of varying sizes.
Standard A4 Printer Paper
One or more paperclips (Metal or plastic are fine)
Sturdier Construction Paper
A dollar bill and a dime.
Sheets of fabric of varying sizes
If you can't get dedicated scraps of fabric for this course, you can try using your bed's flat (not fitted) sheet.
Plastic drinking straws (bendy or no bend is fine)
Rubber bands
Thread on a bobbin, choose one with a project in mind. There are over 60 unique kinds of bobbins. Sewing Parts Online has an infographic and video discussing some of the top 10.
The Science: Elasticity, hysteresis, and energy storage in cellulose fibers.
Engineering Focus: Folds as non-linear springs.
Building Exercise: The Classic Jumping Frog.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: Analyze the rear "toggle" fold. It acts as a mechanical switch that stores potential energy until it hits a critical threshold and releases.
OER Tool: Origami Simulator (Amanda Ghassaei) – Upload your patterns to see the physics of the fold in real-time.
The Science: Fluid-Structure Interaction (FSI).
Engineering Focus: Rigid-wing sailboats and reefing mechanisms for parachutes.
Building Exercise: The Nakamura Lock Plane.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: A rectangular-base fold that uses a central "lock" to prevent structural delamination during flight.
OER Resource: NASA on How Origami is Revolutionizing Space Exploration.
The Science: Single Degree of Freedom deployment.
Engineering Focus: Maximizing solar array surface area while minimizing stowed volume.
Building Exercise: The Miura-Ori Fold.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: Pull two opposite corners and the entire sheet unfolds simultaneously. This eliminates the need for multiple heavy actuators.
The Science: Solid-state welding in a vacuum.
Engineering Focus: Preventing metal-on-metal fusion by designing "non-contact" hinges.
Building Exercise: The Dollar Bill Ring (and "Dime-in-Ring").
The "Ah-ha" Moment: This is a lesson in interference fits. You are securing a rigid component (the dime) using only the tension of the folded substrate.
OER Resource: ESA’s Guide to Cold Welding in Space.
The Science: Biocompatibility and the Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model (PRBM).
Engineering Focus: Using Nitinol (Shape Memory Alloy) for surgical stents.
Building Exercise: The Magic Waterbomb Ball.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: This volumetric expansion is the foundation for heart sleeves and endovascular stents.
Gifting Exercise: Gradient Paper Flowers (The Kawasaki Rose).
The Science: Linkage-based locomotion and leg-walking gaits.
Engineering Focus: Theo Jansen’s "11 Holy Numbers" for gait optimization.
Building Exercise: The Kaleidocycle (Flexagon).
The "Ah-ha" Moment: A 3D ring that turns inside out infinitely, demonstrating how rotational energy can be converted into complex volumetric motion.
OER Resource: Jansen Linkage Simulator (GeoGebra).
The Science: Triboelectric Nanogenerators (TENGs).
Engineering Focus: Harvesting potential difference (Atmospheric Electricity) using conductive tethers.
Building Exercise: Accordion-Fold Paper Lantern.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: Every compression stroke is a power generation cycle.
OER Resource: The Wang Group: TENG Theoretical Principles.
The Science: Bridge Rectifiers and Buck Converters for "dirty" power.
Engineering Focus: Managing high-voltage, low-current outputs from origami harvesters.
Building Exercise: The Dollar Bill Star and The Money Christmas Tree.
The "Ah-ha" Moment: These modular designs teach you how to "nest" smaller sub-assemblies to create a larger, structurally sound robotic system.
BYU Compliant Mechanisms Research (CMR): The industry leader in engineering origami-inspired joints.
Robert Lang’s Science & Math Gallery: Deep dives into the math behind the folds.
Erik Demaine’s MIT Courseware: The definitive academic course on folding algorithms.
Final Project: Design a foldable "Atmospheric Harvester" lantern that uses the contact/separation of its inner folds to light up a small LED. Must include a failure analysis for cold welding.
