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Chinese Journal of Engineering Design  2026, Vol. 33 Issue (3): 370-376    DOI: 10.3785/j.issn.1006-754X.2026.05.191
Robotic and Mechanism Design     
Design and analysis of origami-structured coiling soft gripper
Junlong LI(),Jun FAN,Renfang HE,Yuanfan CHENG,Junfeng HU()
School of Mechanical and Electrical Engineering, Jiangxi University of Science and Technology, Ganzhou 341000, China
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Abstract  

Existing soft grippers commonly face the issue of limited contact area with objects, while structures capable of large-enveloping grasps are typically characterized by complex and bulky designs, making it difficult to reconcile the need for extensive surface contact with demands for structural simplicity and compactness. To address this trade-off, a novel origami gripper was designed. Drawing inspiration from the coiling motion of snakes, the gripper utilized a motor-driven winding mechanism to pull a string, driving the sequential folding of the origami structure, thereby achieving compliant coiling grasping. Experiments were conducted to analyze the influence of parameters including origami thickness, width, length, and the origami unit adjacent-edge angle on the gripping force. The results demonstrated that the gripper achieved optimal grasping performance when the origami thickness was 0.125 mm, the origami unit adjacent-edge angle was 60°, and the diagonal width was 22 mm. The gripper not only exhibited notable adaptability to both regular and irregular objects, but also demonstrated considerable load-bearing capacity, reliably grasping objects weighing up to 500 g. Characterized by its compact size, simple structure, large enveloping contact area, and substantial gripping strength, the proposed origami gripper provides an innovative technical solution for practical applications such as automated fruit and vegetable harvesting and compliant handling.



Key wordsorigami structure      soft gripper      cable-driven mechanism      coiling grasp     
Received: 09 September 2025      Published: 27 June 2026
CLC:  TH 122  
Corresponding Authors: Junfeng HU     E-mail: 2011360523@qq.com;hjfsuper@126.com
Cite this article:

Junlong LI,Jun FAN,Renfang HE,Yuanfan CHENG,Junfeng HU. Design and analysis of origami-structured coiling soft gripper. Chinese Journal of Engineering Design, 2026, 33(3): 370-376.

URL:

https://www.zjujournals.com/gcsjxb/10.3785/j.issn.1006-754X.2026.05.191     OR     https://www.zjujournals.com/gcsjxb/Y2026/V33/I3/370


折纸结构的缠绕式软体抓手设计与分析

现有软体抓手与物体的接触面积较小,而具备包络抓取能力的结构通常设计复杂、体积庞大,难以在实现大包络面积的同时兼顾结构简洁性与紧凑性。为解决这一矛盾,设计了一种新型折纸抓手。受蛇类缠绕运动的启发,采用电机驱动绕线轮,通过牵引细绳带动折纸结构有序折叠,从而实现柔顺的缠绕式抓取。通过实验分析了折纸厚度、宽度、长度以及折纸单元邻边夹角等参数对抓取力的影响。结果表明,当折纸厚度为0.125 mm、折纸单元邻边夹角为60°、斜边宽度为22 mm时,抓手的抓取性能最优。其不仅对规则物体与不规则物体均具有良好的适应性,而且具备较强的负载能力,可稳定抓取质量达500 g的物体。所设计的折纸抓手体积小巧、结构简单、包络接触面大且承载能力强,为果蔬采摘、柔性搬运等实际应用场景提供了新颖的技术方案。


关键词: 折纸结构,  软体抓手,  绳驱机构,  缠绕抓取 
Fig.1 Schematic diagram of snake climbing
Fig.2 Crease pattern of origami gripper
Fig.3 String threading method between origami units
Fig.4 Folding principle of origami units
Fig.5 Folding process of origami gripper
Fig.6 Geometric parameters of origami gripper
Fig.7 Minimum and maximum grasping diameters of origami gripper
Fig.8 Downward winding length of origami unit
Fig.9 Origami gripper morphologies with different inter-unit angles
Fig.10 Folding gap between origami units
Fig.11 Influence of folding gap on folding state of origami gripper
Fig.12 Friction analysis of origami gripper
Fig.13 Torque analysis of origami gripper
Fig.14 Measurement of grasping force
Fig.15 Grasping experiments on objects of various shapes
 
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