alt Hacker News> ... the Y-Zipper, a 3D-printed, three-sided fastener that can snap a floppy, flexible structure into a rigid, load-bearing beam with one smooth pull.
Not a mechanical engineer, but I'd figure both the "rigid" and "load-bearing" aspects will be far poorer than conventional beams of the same size and weight.
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lightedman • today at 4:14 PM
Depends on the material that is being used and application. I could see this being highly useful for tents and similar fabric structures. I probably would not build a satellite solar panel structure/frame with them (atomic oxygen is a nasty critter) but for some lightweight terrestrial applications I can see much potential.
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This might be one of those cases where it solves for problem spaces that aren't being considered yet.
What I mean by that is in the case of soft robotics, it was developments in manufacturing techniques for the inflated leading edge of kitesurfing kites, that unlocked the capabilities to make soft robots more feasible.