The origami variant called kirigami (‘cut paper’ in Japanese) also starts with a sheet of paper, but allows you to cut the paper to increase the number of shapes you can create. It is this technique that [Matthew Lim] It is used to create a series of three-dimensional designs that can be converted between a flat configuration and some type of functional object without screws, glue or the like. These include everything from a phone stand to a fairly large side table. The video begins with an interesting demonstration of how to fold an origami crane that has a smaller crane on its back. This is documented in a 1797 book about the many ways of folding a crane, being one of the first known cases in which cuts are made in a single sheet of paper, which becomes the second, much smaller crane. The same book expands on that idea to make an origami grid that can be folded into a crane grid after making a series of cuts. This form of origami was later named ‘kirigami’, and the video demonstrates how a few strategic cuts into an original flat shape can make it much more functional, based on scientific papers like this one from 2024 by [Liu] et al. in cylindrical origami with tunable mechanical behavior. These functional mechanisms use a laser cutter and FDM printer to prototype and test increasingly advanced versions of the emerging mechanism, before moving on to manufacture full-size furniture using plywood panels and 3D printed hinges. The best thing about the resulting table is that it can be changed to different configurations, with the mechanism locking into its new position to create a new, relatively stable shape. Although not immediately practical, these mechanisms offer interesting options for both robotics and compact furniture, as well as in applications such as space exploration, where every gram and cubic millimeter of space counts.
