Architected kirigami metamorphosis

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel class of 3D modular kirigami structures on cuboids that can undergo complex, reprogrammable transformations, enabling applications in reconfigurable metamaterials and adaptive architectures.

Contribution

It presents a new approach to 3D modular kirigami with programmable transformations and reconfigurability based on cuts on cuboid shapes, expanding the design space.

Findings

Rich mobilities triggered by kinematic bifurcations

Structures can transform into various 3D architectures

Platform capable of reprogramming into different curved surfaces

Abstract

Kirigami, art of paper cutting, enables two-dimensional sheets transforming into unique shapes which are also hard to reshape once with prescribed cutting patterns. Rare kirigami designs manipulate cuts on three-dimensional objects to compose periodic structures with programmability and/or re-programmability. Here, we propose a new class of three-dimensional modular kirigami by introducing cuts on cuboid-shaped objects, based on which constructing two quasi-three-15 dimensional architected kirigamis with even-flat structural form. We demonstrate the proposed architected kirigamis are with rich mobilities triggered by kinematic bifurcations inherited from their composed modular kirigami, and can undergo living-matter-like metamorphosis evolving into miscellaneous transformable three-dimensional architectures and even a pluripotent platform capable of being re-programmed into curvature different surfaces through inverse design. Such 20 metamorphic structures could find broad applications in reconfigurable metamaterials, transformable robots and architectures.