Quasi-Static Analysis of a Tapered Extendable Arm Inspired by an Origami with Modified Folding Diagram

Abstract

In our previous study, we developed an extendable arm inspired by the origami spring composed of rigid components, which performs largely tilting configurations in a space. However, this extendable arm had a problem in its static performance under external load. It is related to the shape of and the mass distribution in the mechanism. This paper presents a new folding diagram of origami spring which enables the tapered shape at the extended configuration. Based on this diagram, an extendable arm with a tapered shape is proposed so that the static performance is improved due to a better mass distribution in the arm. Quasi-static analysis has been carried out to show the effect of the modified design.