Materials

• paper sheets
• PET sheets (few hundred micrometers in thickness)

Machine

• Laser cutter
• Vinyl cutter

Introduction

Here, we are going to make mechanical metamaterials from a simple kirigami. The particularity of this kirigami is that its longitudinal rigidity can be tuned depending on the design parameters.

Isobe et al. [Isobe, Scientific Reports, 2016] have found a relation between the longitudinal rigidity of the structure and the design parameters.

Kirigami pattern generator:

Use the following script to create a vector image that can be cut on a flexible sheet using a laser cutter or a Vinyl cutter.

Width
Height
Cut to border distance
Top Blank (exact)
Bottom Blank (approximate)
Space between lines
Number of lines
Add border
Note : you must update SVG before copy/download.

Testing the structures

Lasercut the structure in a paper or a PET thin sheet and feel how the rigidity change for different design parameters.