HingePliers (a metamaterials experiment)

There is some very interesting [research at the Hasso Plattner Institute 3D-printing metamaterials](https://hpi.de//en/baudisch/projects/metamaterial-mechanisms.html). Normally, complex mechanical properties arise from assembling components made of various materials; in contrast, a metamaterial object obtains its properties within a single part using a single material without assembly. Their work centers on using a deformable cell pattern, which they said would work with ABS and PLA, but all their demos are made with NinjaFlex... which deforms easily, but lacks the rigidity needed for many kinds of devices.

To test the feasibility of combining rigidity and deformability, I created a simple design for metamaterial longnose pliers. The black pliers printed in ABS copy the metamaterial cell design they used, but the ABS proved too rigid; the nose barely moved before the ABS began to crack. For my second attempt, I reinforced the stress points, thinned the walls of the deformable cell s