Bending techniques for flat materials using cut patterns: a review

The techniques that permit the materialization of organic and curved geometries include those based on curving flat materials using cut patterns, which have been explored with the improvement of digital manufacturing tools. This study has analyzed kerfing, lamina emergent mechanisms, auxetic linkages and kirigami, seeking greater knowledge and differentiation between these techniques. The mechanical principles, objectives, materials and possible applications, types of cutting patterns, among other aspects, were investigated. It was noted that kerfing and lamina emergent mechanisms presented similar aspects with regards to aiming at folding or bending the material, the use of materials with considerable thickness, and the dependence of the torsion of segments for bending the set. Meanwhile, auxetic linkages and kirigami were also used for stretching the material and depended on buckling or bending of segments, being more suitable to thin or flexible materials. For kerfing, the focus was on architectural scale applications, while kirigami was used in small scale applications (such as electronics).  No specific applications were identified for LEMs and auxetic linkages. The information collected and the understanding of each system sought to contribute to a greater knowledge and adoption of these techniques by designers.