Origami,which is generally fabricated from one single sheet of paper by sequential folding, has enjoyed a high popularity during the past centuries. Because of the deployability and
ability to reconfigure its shape, it is a promising structural design technique that is utilized in
biomedical and aerospace engineering. The purpose of this paper is to present a novel manufacturing approach to fabricate origami based on 3D printing utilizing digital light processing.
Specifically, it is proposed to leave part of the model uncured during the printing step, and
then cure it in the post-processing shape-setting step in the folded configuration. While the
cured regions in the first step try to regain their unfolded shape, the regions cured in the second step try to keep their folded shape. As a result, the final shape will be obtained when
both regions stresses reach equilibrium. Finite element Analysis is performed in ANSYS to
obtain the stress distribution on common hinge designs. This proves that the square-hinge
has a lower maximum principal stress compared with elliptical and triangle hinges. Based
on the square-hinge and rectangular cavity two variables, the width of the hinge and height
of the cavity, are selected as principal variables to construct relationships between the two
parameters and final folding angle. In the end, experimental verification show that the developed method is valid and reliable to realize the proposed deformation and 3D development
of 2D hinges.