Modular Origami – testing modules

The theme for building a project this week was modularity. Mike Kelberman approached me with an always intriguing idea of using origami and conductive inks in order to create a transformable electrical device. What we came up with is a lamp using an RGB LED. The idea is changing the color of the LED by changing the resistance of each pin. In able to change the resistance, you add either a conductive or non-conductive module to the circuit trace.
Once we decided what module design to go with, we decided to make the lamp shade itself out of the modules, the connections of the modules to one another making up the conductive traces that lead to each of the three LED pins (R,G,B).

This is the start of our process, making and deciding on what module to work with.

Mike holds one of our folded modules

We searched many different modules. Here are some great modular origami sites:
http://www.origamee.net/
http://hektor.umcs.lublin.pl/~mikosmul/origami/
http://www.origami-resource-center.com/modular.html

The problem with most modules we found, was the flexibility of design. If we were to have a shape that you had to be able to remove a module and still have the stability of the form stay in tack, it could not be a form that relied on the tension created between each module.
The first one that looked promising was “That Simple/Stupid/S#!%@!#! Unit”
It gave us pictures of different configurations using 4 – 30 units. Still, after folding, this proved to be too flimsy and not right for what we had in store.

Folding of That Simple Unit

One side of T.S.M.

Aaaaaand the other side once completed

Following online instructions to put four of these modules together

Four units put together successfully

Putting together two modules made of the four previously shown

Eight units total

Another angle of the eight unit configuration

After nixing That Simple Unit, we went back to simpler modules that might give us more of a stable connection. Below is an example of that. Still wasn’t quite right…

Trying a different, more simple module

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