hckrnws
An old patent inspired the new "Y-zipper", a three-sided fastener
(news.mit.edu)
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by crescit_eundo
by crescit_eundo
Is this design practical? What would it be used for? With this zipping mechanism, can anything be attached?
Edit: Apparently I stopped watching the video too early. They demonstrate some uses where at max only one of the three sides can be attached to something, and it is used to create a rigid structure rather than joining multiple surfaces. The most interesting use demonstrated (IMO), is a tent with no tent poles, but it doesn't look like it would hold up to any significant weather, and would probably take up just as much space and weight as tent poles.
Or unseal purified metal surfaces, press them together, and use vacuum diffusion welding.
With enough time and/or sunlight, it can happen on its own.
[deleted]
[deleted]
The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years (2025)
This is worth doing because I'm about to re-up the thread a la https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308.
Not a mechanical engineer, but I'd figure both the "rigid" and "load-bearing" aspects will be far poorer than conventional beams of the same size and weight.
What I mean by that is in the case of soft robotics, it was developments in manufacturing techniques for the inflated leading edge of kitesurfing kites, that unlocked the capabilities to make soft robots more feasible.