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An old patent inspired the new "Y-zipper", a three-sided fastener
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWig98GVIno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWig98GVIno
https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/mit-researchers-revive-40-year-old-triangular-zipper-concept-now-made-possible-by-3d-printing-creates-shape-shifting-robots-and-deployable-structures-3d-printed-y-zipper-turns-floppy-tentacles-into-rigid-beams-in-seconds https://www.tomshardware.com/3d-printing/mit-researchers-rev...
https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-in-a-garage-for-40-years-now-its-real/ https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-i...
- deleted 3mo ago[deleted]
- bell-cot 3mo 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.
- lightedman 3mo agoDepends 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_clack 3mo agoInteresting, which material?
- lightedman 3mo agoFor 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_clack 3mo agoIs PLA stiffer somehow in this state than it would be as a conventional beam?
- AngryData 2mo agoTheoretically it could be because the structure could be held in compression while zipped. But the reality of imperfect manufacturing tolerances and the limits of how difficult to zip you can make a zipper and still be usable makes me think not.
- fragmede 3mo agoI don't want door zippers, I want a door!
- pajko 3mo agoIt looks like this could be made from any metal, where the small segments are connected together like links of a chain.
- radiorental 3mo agoThis 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.
- probably_wrong 3mo agoI 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 https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504
- qrush 3mo agoDirect link to video. These are some freaking cool zippers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWig98GVIno https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWig98GVIno
- sggyamg 2mo agoThanks.
- dang 2mo agoThanks! let's change the URL to that from https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-in-a-garage-for-40-years-now-its-real/ https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-i... and we'll put that link and the video in the toptext. This is worth doing because I'm about to re-up the thread a la https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26998308.
- Modified3019 3mo agoThis reads like it’s been machine generated.
- mangogogo 3mo agoi thought so as well; my eyes were beginning to glaze over. the MIT article talking about it is a much better read.
- dang 2mo ago(This comment was made when the top link was https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-in-a-garage-for-40-years-now-its-real/ https://www.yankodesign.com/2026/05/31/a-zipper-patent-sat-i.... We've since changed the link to https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504 https://news.mit.edu/2026/three-sided-y-zipper-design-0504)
- __MatrixMan__ 3mo agoIt 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.
- Terr_ 2mo ago> For increased rigidity, paint with a solar pumped laser to weld the links together. Or unseal purified metal surfaces, press them together, and use vacuum diffusion welding. With enough time and/or sunlight, it can happen on its own.
- ChrisArchitect 3mo agoMeanwhile over at YKK Japan... The zipper is getting its first major upgrade in 100 years (2025) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45634797 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45634797
- fragmede 3mo agoJust sell me the tent already!
- hugs 3mo agono 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.
- margalabargala 2mo agoThe durability is not great in the current version. In the last 2 seconds of the video you can see a broken off chunk of zipper left on the ground.
- dinfinity 3mo agoThey never show the fully packaged version of the tent, though. It looks like even in their non-rigid state they're too rigid to be folded up easily and carelessly into a compact shape.
- NetMageSCW 2mo agoI could see it easily being rolled up into a compact if long tube which would be a lot easier to transport.
- jbmchuck 2mo agoIt's definitely pretty whiz bang but I'm curious how it would hold up to the dirt and grime of a backpacking trip. I'm also not convinced it is any better or lighter than poles (which can be pretty light with the right materials...)
- tempestn 2mo agoEven if it weren't lighter, it might be faster to set up and take down.
- UltraSane 3mo agoThis makes me think of microtubules.
- keeganpoppen 2mo agowow this looks incredible. love learning about this kind of stuff— no shortage of clever ideas just waiting out there in the ether for someone to make work!
- rationalist 2mo agoZippers are usually attached to something. Is this design practical? What would it be used for? With this zipping mechanism, can anything be attached? Edit: Apparently I stopped watching the video too early. They demonstrate some uses where at max only one of the three sides can be attached to something, and it is used to create a rigid structure rather than joining multiple surfaces. The most interesting use demonstrated (IMO), is a tent with no tent poles, but it doesn't look like it would hold up to any significant weather, and would probably take up just as much space and weight as tent poles.
- surround 2mo agoPoles. The video shows a tent they set up just by zipping up the y zipper.
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- superb_dev 2mo agoI thought the extendable robot legs were the most interesting use with how compact the legs are when retracted
- amelius 2mo agoAlso a stuck zipper now means your entire tent becomes useless.
- wetherbeei 2mo agohttps://patents.google.com/patent/US4757577A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US4757577A/en
- deleted 2mo ago[deleted]
- jml7c5 2mo agoExtremely similar to a rigid chain actuator: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigid_chain_actuator https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rigid_chain_actuator
- bilsbie 2mo agoMy first thought is a better tape measure. Wouldn’t that be cool if it didn’t bend.
- ayashko 2mo agoSame concept as in this 'zipper mast' video from over 10 years ago. Surprisingly compact as each side is from flexible steel sheet that can be rolled up ala tape measure style, then connected as they unroll to form a rigid shaft. Pretty cool; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_UTV3rV-k https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3P_UTV3rV-k
- ngvrnd 2mo agoah the packbot. I remember working on that.
- Mistletoe 2mo agoWish I could zoom in on the photo on mobile. What kind of crap web design is this?
- catlikesshrimp 2mo agoI am using firefox on Android + ubo. Enable zoom on all sites in accessibility settings.
- Melatonic 2mo agoVery cool design but that tent looks heavy as hell and not at all wind resistant. The whole point of the poles in a dome tent is to provide force stretching the tent button (especially when staked down) to be drum tight. The poles being straight and then bent when assembled is the point. That being said maybe this could make for some very cool different types of designs
- IdiotSavage 2mo agoIs any of MIT's stuff "open"? Clicking around on news.mit.edu I see lots of cool ideas. Articles mention "the software allows users to...", yet I never see a link to actual software. For example, I expected to be able to try that 3D-zipper generator they show in the video myself. Edit: found something: https://github.com/tichaesque/FabObscura https://github.com/tichaesque/FabObscura
- HPsquared 2mo agoVery cool, reminds of protein folding.
- hahahaa 2mo agoZipper? Combinator then?
- ourcat 2mo agoThe extendable/retractible robot legs/arms is a great application for this. Though, reminds me of the Sentinels in The Matix.