Abstract

Insects have acquired various types of wings over their course of evolution and have become the most successful terrestrial animals. Consequently, the essence of their excellent environmental adaptability and locomotive ability should be clarified; a simple and versatile method to artificially reproduce the complex structure and various functions of these innumerable types of wings is necessary. This study presents a simple integral forming method for an insect-wing-type composite structure by 3D printing wing frames directly onto thin films. The artificial venation generation algorithm based on the centroidal Voronoi diagram, which can be observed in the wings of dragonflies, was used to design the complex mechanical properties of artificial wings. Furthermore, we implemented two representative functions found in actual insect wings: folding and coupling. The proposed crease pattern design software developed based on a beetle hindwing enables the 3D printing of foldable wings of any shape. In coupling-type wings, the forewing and hindwing are connected to form a single large wing during flight; these wings can be stored compactly by disconnecting and stacking them like cicada wings.

Details

Title
Insect wing 3D printing
Author
Saito Kazuya 1 ; Nagai Hiroto 2 ; Suto Kai 3 ; Ogawa Naoki 4 ; Seong, Young ah 5 ; Tachi Tomohiro 6 ; Niiyama Ryuma 5 ; Kawahara Yoshihiro 7 

 Kyushu University, Faculty of Design, Fukuoka, Japan (GRID:grid.177174.3) (ISNI:0000 0001 2242 4849) 
 Nagasaki University, Graduate School of Engineering, Nagasaki, Japan (GRID:grid.174567.6) (ISNI:0000 0000 8902 2273) 
 The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2151 536X); Nature Architects Inc., Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) 
 Tokyo University of Agriculture, Kanagawa, Japan (GRID:grid.410772.7) (ISNI:0000 0001 0807 3368) 
 The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2151 536X) 
 The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2151 536X) 
 The University of Tokyo, Graduate School of Engineering, Tokyo, Japan (GRID:grid.26999.3d) (ISNI:0000 0001 2151 536X) 
Publication year
2021
Publication date
2021
Publisher
Nature Publishing Group
e-ISSN
20452322
Source type
Scholarly Journal
Language of publication
English
ProQuest document ID
2581966549
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2021. This work is published under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ (the “License”). Notwithstanding the ProQuest Terms and Conditions, you may use this content in accordance with the terms of the License.