Dynamics and scaling of magnetically folding multi-material structures

Abstract

This work presents a method for folding 3D structures from planar microfabricated components using magnetics and an initial impulsive force. A scaling analysis demonstrates that magnetic folding can be particularly favorable at small scales and this analysis is validated through both a dynamic simulation and experimental results. Experimental results are provided by three planar-fabricated, multi-material, fold-up cubes at three different length scales (down to 1.25 mm). The three cubes folded using this method demonstrate behavior consistent with derived scaling properties, but the dynamic simulation model was deemed insufficient to capture specific details of the cubes' behavior.