A Zipper Patent Sat in a Garage for 40 Years. Now It's Real(www.yankodesign.com)
50 pointsby crescit_eundo3 hours ago8 comments
  • probably_wrong3 hours ago
    I suggest reading the original linked article, if only because it includes a video with the zipper in action:

    https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504

  • an hour ago
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  • __MatrixMan__2 hours ago
    It brings to mind satellites assembling themselves in space. Send up a tightly packed box of spaghetti and extrude it into the desired physical shape upon arrival in orbit. For increased rigidity, paint with a solar pumped laser to weld the links together.
  • fragmede2 hours ago
    Just sell me the tent already!
    • hugsan hour ago
      no kidding. it was the last demo in the video, but my first reaction seeing the zippers-instead-tent-poles demo was, "oh, that's going to be huge." weight and "how well does it handle wind?" are concerns, but i could totally see "100% zipper" tents on the market by the end of the year.
  • UltraSanean hour ago
    This makes me think of microtubules.
  • ChrisArchitect2 hours ago
    Meanwhile over at YKK Japan...

    The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years (2025)

    https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45634797

  • Modified30192 hours ago
    This reads like it’s been machine generated.
    • mangogogo36 minutes ago
      i thought so as well; my eyes were beginning to glaze over. the MIT article talking about it is a much better read.
  • bell-cot3 hours ago
    > ... 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.

    • radiorental2 hours ago
      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.

    • lightedman3 hours ago
      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.
      • clickety_clack2 hours ago
        Interesting, which material?
        • lightedman2 hours ago
          For example, if you used PLA you'd get a stiffer, more mechanically-rigid structure in the zipped-up state. If you used TPU, you'd get a more flexible and elastic structure. I'd want PLA for tent seams and TPU for the door zipper.
          • clickety_clack2 hours ago
            Is PLA stiffer somehow in this state than it would be as a conventional beam?
          • fragmede2 hours ago
            I don't want door zippers, I want a door!