Flexure Gripper and Demo Board

**UPDATE**
**I am considering making the gripper available as a kit for those who want to play with the mechanism, but are less excited about laser cutting it. I would make the gripper from a different material so they would last much longer than laser-cut Delrin. I'm thinking ~$20 a kit, but that could come down a lot with volume. Please comment below if that interests you at all.**
I made this gripper and demo board to accompany a talk on flexures that I plan to give at the Hackaday Superconference 2019. I have often found flexures to be a super useful in various personal projects, since they can help create such satisfying mechanisms. Hopefully you will find them enjoyable, too.
Files for making your own version of what you see in this video can be found here: github.com/amymakesstuff/flex...

[@TheMorpheus017]

Finally! KZbin recommends something good.

[@dmacpher]

Yayer

[@gickygackers]

Disagreed

[@Nawmps]

@@gickygackers big man

[@nopesquid1536]

she really be flexing on us

[@DeXoDeD]

Hahaha,

[@MlSTERSLOTH]

Stop, no but keep going.

[@OttomanDrifter91]

When you make stuff you should flex too, it's the law B)

[@kinxslayer4142]

I would want one. A fidget board that shows compliant mechanisms sounds like the ultimate nerd gift.

[@wilsoncalhoun]

1:36 Whhaaat? Are you implying that your cat would knowingly lie about having been fed in order to get more food than it really needs? Scandalous.

[@AmyMakesStuff]

🤣

[@wolfgangreichl3361]

I'm pretty sure the cat merely truthfully states that she's just moments away from dying of starvation - ... without being too specific about the exact number of moments.

[@oxtoolco]

Excellent video! Cheers, Tom

[@AmyMakesStuff]

Thanks, Tom!!!

[@davidsiriani9586]

The Festo inspired mechanism at around the three minute mark is just awesome. Also thank you for the 3D files; I can't wait to make one of these.

[@XYZAidan]

Amazing work on this, especially the gripper!! Really blown away by the detail you put into all of these mechanisms

[@dl0.0lb]

So many of those mechanisms are just so satisfying to see and hear in action. Thanks for sharing!

[@karthick86c]

As someone who adores flexures, I am very impressed by the amount of work you have put into making this video. Good job!

[@ethanmiller3649]

This is fantastic! The example board is phenomenal, and I really like your gripper. Super cool stuff. Also, thanks for sharing all the cut files!

[@3DPrintingNerd]

KZbin just recommended this to me. It's wonderful, and I'm not subscribed!

[@Vandel212]

All of these things can most likely be done with a 3d printer.

[@LeoStaley]

@@Vandel212 a that's basically the only way that they can be made.

[@kennykd97]

@@LeoStaley she said she cut them out iwith a laser

[@zyzzyva303]

What you said. Also, not surprised to see you here.

[@HackMonkey]

Ditto! That gripper is super cool! First thought was, it can't hold anything. Then mind blown, it can hold everything!

[@whatdidshilinmaketoday]

your mechanism designs are elegant and very efficient, I really look forward to see more!

[@cushte4996]

I was just thinking today, that i havent seen any recent uploads from Amy makes stuff. Thanks Amy!!!!

[@AmyMakesStuff]

😁thanks for watching! (And for patiently waiting 🙃)

[@dleesnuts]

Someone hire this person and give them lots of money!

[@LimitedWard]

Okay I've only seen one video so far, and I can tell your channel is gonna pop off.

[@JacksonTravel]

tru

[@SRG-Learn]

Really awesome. Very smart to have a board with some examples, also flawless production. Thanks for sharing.

[@dustyfisk1887]

Beautiful mechanisms, thanks for sharing! Excited to see your other projects now.

[@thisisridiculous337]

That is so cool! All of it! I have a tendency to overthink, watching simple solutions always feels eye opening.

[@ShellingtonLabs]

This is wonderful. I like the idea of having a neat set of references readily available and nearby.

[@jaimemitchell3928]

Amy, I used your Honda Element shelf design and it made my home really comfy and functional. My instructor just recommended this video for our laser cutting class. Thanks for all these great videos and designs! :)

[@AmyMakesStuff]

It’s really wonderful to hear stuff like this, thanks for sharing :)

[@robertsimpson4693]

Ms. Amy, I just came across this VIDEO. This is excellent work to show such things in Demo Form. This shows an "orderly and curious" mind. I am an immediate subscriber and will be following your work. - Robert

[@pietrotentor7548]

the people who put not like don't understand how much beautiful are those mechanisms and well done

[@skellious]

wow, these look so beautiful and functional at the same time!

[@zirgaoec3784]

Goddamn genius. Nothing else to say really, your channel deserves to get more recognition

[@isaacsmith1653]

Glad you came across my feed! Love to see good creators suggested

[@saiello2061]

I believe these are called "compliant" mechanisms. I only just discovered them as a "thing", opens up a whole world of creative possibilities...! 👍 Love those mechanisms, gives you a unique feeling of saisfaction playing with them... 😁

[@DannoHung]

Are all flexible mechanism compliant? It seems at least a few differ significantly from the the previous examples I've seen demonstrated.

[@saiello2061]

@@DannoHung There must be a strict definition that I'm not aware of but I think any mechanism whose function relies on the bending properties of a material for its working as opposed to traditional linkages could be characterised as 'compliant'.

[@dan339dan]

I believe compliant mechanisms can't have friction come into play. So unless the mechanism is only powered by tensile forces, it's not compliant. At least that's what I get from compliant mechanism videos

[@Markfps]

This is amazing! Amy, you deserve many more subscribers! I'm in!

[@KJFMZ]

I've favorited this for future reference. Phenomenal stuff. I really love the pet feeding schedule, so simple yet so clever.

[@CarlBugeja]

Awesome work! I love that gripper design!!

[@srtcsb]

I would definitely buy a gripper kit. This is an excellent design, and I could use it for model making and other tasks. Looking forward to more videos like this. Thank you.

[@himselfe]

Glad KZbin decided to start recommending more videos about compliant mechanisms, because I would have missed this video otherwise. You have a really humble and informative style, and I think it's great! Would love to see more videos about compliant mechanisms, so have a sub from me!

[@MakerProjectLab]

Brilliant designs, Amy. Thanks for sharing this.

[@handmadeisbetter]

These mechanisms are really awesome! And mesmerizing too 😆

[@noisytim]

Damn, that’s cool! Especially the gripper 😃 Thanks for sharing the files !!

[@agentbey]

Fun watching your videos. I am enjoying your thought process.

[@kadenzxc]

I love this! I've been neglecting flexures in a lot of my own stuff, and they would really be great additions in a lot of places. I subscribed because of this video. I really want to apply this with water jet cutting on steel. The butterfly torsion spring is my favorite and it would be really useful to me in steel, which is strong and can stay strong for billions of load cycles.

[@andrewjmark100]

Great job show casing all of this I didn't know this kind of work was possible on a laser cutter.

[@johnjackson9767]

As someone who's getting more into mechanics, this is awesome. Thanks!

[@godetaalibaba2522]

That's some really cool mechanisms, I'd love to learn how to make and use stuff like that to solve any kind of problems 👌

[@alechart462]

I don't know how this channel has slipped my knowledge for so long, and I freaking LOVE the content this time especially; Yes, PLEASE make a kit available in some way, even if you simply provide the STL's for the gripper, I'm interested in making it smaller but that design is so ingenious! I know several things have been coming up using similar methods, but for a 3d-printed take on the topic, it fits perfectly I think. Anyways, hoping you share or something similar! Subscribed.

[@eliomunafo1672]

I really liked how it has been presented

[@AmyMakesStuff]

Thank you!

[@C3DPropShop]

Really cool content. I could see your channel taking off. Great work!

[@mikabreto]

Gripper closure action made my jaw drop a little.

[@First_Class_Amateur]

Where have you been all my life! Great job!

[@DJDevon3]

This video featured on Adafruit's blog today. Awesome mechanical engineering stuff. Very cool video!

[@antonwinter630]

thanks for sharing that board with all the mechanisms

[@rikilshah]

These are awesome! Thank you for sharing wonderful design ideas.

[@HenryKamp]

Really attractive, clever, thoughtful design. I love the cat feeding tracker!

[@sgtrock68]

Yes, satisfying stuff. There's a bunch of short YT videos, I always have to hunt for when the subject comes up, where they demonstrate many different gear n linkage set ups, rotation to linear, driving an armature to follow a set path that's not circular and not simple reciprocating, things like that. Very satisfying and useful too. I needed a weird movement in a project and just could not think of a reasonable way to make to happen, but I knew somewhere in all those machine motion videos there would be something to spark the answer, and it did. Your detent mech is one I've used. Humm I should finish that project I guess...it's only been 5 years. Thanks. Cool video.

[@adisharr]

Nice demo Amy, nice to see all these different types in action. Looks like quite a few can be 3D printed as well although they might not hold up as well.

[@fliegerhorst7688]

Haven't see such cool content for weeks!!

[@ChrisgammaDE]

Awesome use of compliant mechanisms!

[@lfmtube]

Excellent video. Inspires me and gave me an idea on how to solve a mechanical problem with a prototype. Thanks!

[@monkfry]

How have I not seen this channel before?!!

[@TheWatshingMan]

This is exactly what I've been looking for! Thank you so much ^^

[@jaro6985]

So much better than the stuff AVE tried to make. Didn't know counterbore was possible.

[@denysshevchenko7595]

Well done Amy! Nice work

[@wouter12wpp]

You gave me alot of ideas for projects, thanks!

[@johnsmith-oy9kx]

Don't stop, keep it coming, awesome mechanics, thank you...

[@Rotem_S]

Really nice stuff, you seem like you're going to get really popular soon

[@Ashnek34]

Great! I loved the board with flexures.

[@cabbageman]

I need this kit in my life!! Would buy for sure (also your cat food mechanism neatly solves a common problem in my household) I need!

[@joaomanoellima5947]

I can see those being used in lots of 3D prints, really nice!

[@Meccanokinematics]

Great vid. I like the gripperdesign and specially the gripper tips.

[@MrJbaker020]

That was so cool. Excellent video.

[@shingabiss]

I think you are brilliant, a mechanical genius! I have developed a few latches but you've taken it way beyond that! I'm currently using neodymium magnets as 'springs' and 'latches' in making things.

[@pinaz993]

Awesome engineering chops!

[@mikej9062]

Really neat I wish there was such a video for wooden mechanisms -- lots of these rely on material plasticity but they are still cool

[@AdamPNelson]

Thanks for showing this engineer something new!

[@DeXoDeD]

Your video caught both babies (4 and 2 years old) attention for the whole time, and now we are going to try some too :D

[@adamreynolds3863]

that gripper is insane!!! Wow.

[@SeamusHarper1234]

My local hackspace is raising funds for a laser cutter, this inspires new action! Also, i really like your voice, its another + for the vid.

[@nosferathu258]

I have been blessed by the algorithm gods once again. Top notch content.

[@hanyanglee9018]

I watched for 40sec and I clicked the bell. This is awesome.

[@yoashuain1]

I love this, new to me, world of Compliant parts and mechanisms.

[@jhijhi85]

amazing work Amy

[@FunkyDeleriousPriest]

This is really impressive. Thank you so much for sharing! 1/16" acetal is the material I laser cut the most, but I haven't ever tried making any mechanisms like this. Your work is brilliant!

[@davidcahan]

Satisfying...great description!

[@capnthepeafarmer]

This is really great! I need to make one of those demo boards!

[@neuromanglers]

Great video ! I was thinking about something similar to the cat feed tracker. Loved your presentation using the board. Of course....now I am a subscriber and look forward to more ....thanks

[@SiliconeButts]

I'm gonna use what you showed me to 3d print a fidget cube with fantastic tactile feedback.

[@marcerasmus3745]

Informative and inspiring, thanks Amy.

[@Mukeshmiktecrep]

Those snug fitted slotted machines are so satisfying when they click and hold position

[@e2jw]

Beautiful and brilliant!

[@danielmace406]

Cool stuff, Amy!

[@jonludwig8233]

Great work, and inspiring! Please keep making videos 😁

[@aftereight991]

Thank you very much for this video, this is exactly what i was looking for.

[@thoughtbombdesign]

Hi Amy, this video just came up in my feed and it was awesome! Subscribed! 👍

[@mikeg4972]

Nicely made!

[@terra__]

Thanks youtube recommendations, this is incredible!

[@beauregardslim1914]

Wow, this stuff is really cool. More please!

[@Newhaulin]

I found this whole video satisfying!😊

[@olleronstad3406]

nice demo on compliant mechanisms

[@rock3tcatU233]

1:53 We use that one a lot in opto-mechanical structures, especially in the semiconductor industry.

[@memesfromdeepspace1075]

For gyroscop if not wrong

[@xxportalxx.]

Aahhh I was just about to bring up MEMS

[@andrewmanti235]

@@memesfromdeepspace1075 accelerometer

[@dvoraklovelace2801]

direct and concise. I really liked your video

[@WalkarSajid]

God bless you amy! Please make more videos like this, thanks!

[@horiap77]

Super nice we want more like this :)

[@filipciborowski6443]

finally a good recommendation from youtube, you earned my sub!

[@_tiredofidiocy_]

Thanks! Thats awesome, all parts printed with factory-level quality

[@TheNormalUniverse]

Fun demo board!