Origami and Kirigami Photopolymer Structures: Hinge Design, Folding Path, Damage and Deployment Repeatability

Origami and kirigami photopolymer structures couple fold kinematics with local hinge mechanics, self-contact and time-dependent material response. Build orientation changes hinge fatigue and panel anisotropy, while multimaterial hinges can decouple panel stiffness from fold compliance at the cost of interface risk. Qualification therefore requires fold angle versus moment or actuation input, DIC-based hinge curvature, cycle-to-cycle residual angle and microscopy or micro-CT of accumulated hinge damage. Single-hinge coupons establish the local constitutive response before full deployment sequences introduce collision and path constraints. The resulting evidence supports a minimum hinge radius or thickness for the required life and defines the deployment-force envelope that can be transferred to a more complex mechanism.

ER-370.