This paper presents a fabrication technique used to embed folds into carbon fiber composite sheets through controlled discontinuities between elastic silicone and rigid epoxy, so that it may be possible to construct moving linkages out of a single starting layup. Fold lines are designated with a photosensitive silicone adhesive, cured with UV light, and epoxy is cured into carbon fiber sheets under vacuum bagging. The containment of ‘leaks’ between the silicone and the epoxy was one of the main challenges in the implementation of this technique. Two methods of fabricating carbon fiber flexures were explored: stiffness through geometry, and stiffness through materials. The former uses origami concepts to produce geometric structures resistant to bending and compression. While the method showed promising results on paper prototypes, its complexity caused many issues when implemented on carbon fiber. The method of stiffness through materials uses controlled changes in the number of carbon fiber plies used in the layup (4 on fold lines, 8 everywhere else) to provide additional stiffness, leading to less complexity. The methods of this paper can be used to fabricate lightweight, stiff, monolithic linkages, with links that can sit flush to a surface, then fold out of them. Applications include movable aerodynamic structures with utility in the automobile and aerospace industries.


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    Title :

    Methods for Folding Linkages Out of Carbon Fiber


    Additional title:

    Mechan. Machine Science


    Contributors:

    Conference:

    USCToMM Symposium on Mechanical Systems and Robotics ; 2022 ; Rapid City, SD, USA May 19, 2022 - May 21, 2022



    Publication date :

    2022-04-01


    Size :

    16 pages





    Type of media :

    Article/Chapter (Book)


    Type of material :

    Electronic Resource


    Language :

    English




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