Y-zipper: 3D Printing Flexible–Rigid Transition Mechanism for Rapid and Reversible Assembly

Along with Velcro, zippers have become an integral part of every day life, being a quick and easy way to usually temporarily join fabric together. Which isn’t to say that you cannot do more with the basic zipper concept, including using them to turn floppy 2D shapes into rigid 3D ones, such as with the Y-zipper concept proposed and demonstrated by [Jiaji Li] et al. Although not a fully new idea, the Y-zipper is compared with a range of similar mechanisms that do not feature the same abilities, i