Y'see the 3 sided zipper can only exist in cosmic levels of pressure and heat, being constrained by advanced AI controlled magnets to prevent the zipper from getting caught on something.
Finally the time has come. Your primitive species has advanced to the point where we can now make ourselves known and offer you an opportunity to join galactic society.
Hey, that's pretty cool! I'd be super curious to see how other materials outside of pla (not particularly great for long term outdoor use) or tpu fare, especially with tools like metal printers becoming slightly more accessible.
Also, it might be worth cross posting to !3dprinting@lemmy.world, it's always nice to see cool and bleeding edge use cases for the technology.
It's an interesting idea. Especially the as a system for erecting a tent. However, I'd question it's durability and repairability in exactly the same application. Fiberglass rods are amazingly durable and hold up to a lot of abuse. And, when on finally does fail, they are cheap and easy to replace. If a tent has this y-zipper thingy and is on the wrong side of a falling branch, will it old up? And, if it doesn't, how hard would it be to fix/replace the broken bit?
"William Freeman Ph.D., then an electrical engineer at Polaroid and now an MIT professor, saw it and submitted a novel idea: a three-sided zipper. Instead of fastening pants, it'd be like a switch that seamlessly flipped chairs, tents, and purses between soft and rigid states, making them easier to pack and put together."
It's really not hard. Most people are just lazy or lack the ability to look at something for more then 30 seconds before becoming frustrated. I camp all the time, just spent a week out at a lake with 3 tents. All of them ended up back in their bags nicely, like they do at the end of every trip.
I used to camp once or twice a year. You don't develop the "muscle memory" to pack everything up nicely. So just just kinda throw it together meaning to sort it later. The next year you grab it and it's still all fucky and it's a huge effort to make it less so.
You're right insofar as for someone who does it all the time it's easy, but not so much for occasional users. To be fair that's sort of the opposite premise than you were responding to. They would've been better off suggesting you either never do it or do it all the time.
Point is even when I first started camping this was never really an issue because I literally took the time to just look at the tent and say oh it goes back together like this it's really not that difficult of a thing for somebody to spend an extra 2 minutes to look at their camping setup and realize how to fold everything back up.
52 Comments
Rubanski@discuss.tchncs.de · 88 pts · 117d
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 14 pts · 116d
This took Europe $200B and 40 years.
Secret facility in France.
Redjard@reddthat.com · 2 pts · 116d
What part do they make in that round thing?
Wirlocke@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 5 pts · 116d
Y'see the 3 sided zipper can only exist in cosmic levels of pressure and heat, being constrained by advanced AI controlled magnets to prevent the zipper from getting caught on something.
Buddahriffic@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 115d
A moment of horrified silence for the scrotums/labia of the 18 scientists that collectively discovered this. Their sacrifices will not be forgotten.
Oops, the AI controlling the magnets just deleted the database with the records, but it says it is very sorry.
DarkCloud@lemmy.world · 58 pts · 117d
I feel I'd have to see it in action, on a use case, to understand its use.
similideano@piefed.social · 35 pts · 117d
There's a video in the article showing a few, like pitching a tent and then taking it down.
Cort@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 117d
That tent actually looks useful, if the zippers can hold up.
Aussiemandeus@aussie.zone · 15 pts · 117d
Immediately when i saw this is thought man this will revolutionise the tent game.
Then i saw the video and am glad they're all over it
albbi@piefed.ca · 4 pts · 116d
The video shows a robot with variable leg lengths where the excess is stored in a round drum.
Mickey Mouse eared robot legs is not something I thought I would see when the title of the post is: three-sided zippers.
thericofactor@sh.itjust.works · 48 pts · 117d
Yes... Finally... The wait is over.
workerONE@lemmy.world · 34 pts · 117d
Link to video https://youtu.be/AWig98GVIno
HubertManne@piefed.social · 31 pts · 116d
Finally the time has come. Your primitive species has advanced to the point where we can now make ourselves known and offer you an opportunity to join galactic society.
Gsus4@mander.xyz · 9 pts · 116d
That's only when you have 4D zippers. Almost there...
BigBrownDog@lemmy.world · 29 pts · 117d
I'm sure people have said similar things about inventions in the past that now shape our everyday lives.
its_kim_love@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 20 pts · 117d
I'm not cinical, but this is likely the 4th or 5th time someone has made a 3 sided zipper in my lifetime.
Drusas@fedia.io · 33 pts · 117d
Article sort of goes into that a little bit, mentioning the origins of the idea and explaining how this one might actually be useful.
AliasVortex@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 117d
Hey, that's pretty cool! I'd be super curious to see how other materials outside of pla (not particularly great for long term outdoor use) or tpu fare, especially with tools like metal printers becoming slightly more accessible.
Also, it might be worth cross posting to !3dprinting@lemmy.world, it's always nice to see cool and bleeding edge use cases for the technology.
Tyrq@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 16 pts · 117d
John Zip would be proud that his two dimensional coupler gained an extra dimension of utility today.
MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip · 14 pts · 117d
realitista@lemmus.org · 29 pts · 117d
I've got an item with tunable stiffness for ya.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 3 pts · 116d
That makes one is us!
Etterra@discuss.online · 13 pts · 117d
It's everything I never needed.
Mouselemming@sh.itjust.works · 10 pts · 117d
Thumbnail looks like IUDs
Hacksaw@lemmy.ca · 6 pts · 117d
3d printable IUD! Who's first?
zalgotext@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 116d
Eh I already got enough plastic in my balls
samus12345@sh.itjust.works · 8 pts · 116d
At a glance, I thought they arranged the zippers to say "smile," but no, it's just random patterns.
RecursiveParadox@piefed.social · 7 pts · 117d
Very cool, thanks.
thorhop@sopuli.xyz · 7 pts · 116d
Have we come far, or gone too far?
FireWire400@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 116d
Look, I don't care how many sides it has as long as it doesn't get stuck on everything.
SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 117d
This is fascinating. Sure wish they released the design tool so we could play with it.
InvalidName2@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 117d
I'm getting Faces of Death vibes from that music in the video (at least in the tent scene).
sylver_dragon@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 116d
It's an interesting idea. Especially the as a system for erecting a tent. However, I'd question it's durability and repairability in exactly the same application. Fiberglass rods are amazingly durable and hold up to a lot of abuse. And, when on finally does fail, they are cheap and easy to replace. If a tent has this y-zipper thingy and is on the wrong side of a falling branch, will it old up? And, if it doesn't, how hard would it be to fix/replace the broken bit?
HootinNHollerin@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 1 pts · 117d
Super cool
cheese_greater@lemmy.world · -6 pts · 117d
I mean, lik, at a certain point, this becomes about nothing less than reinventing the human bunghole
Zoomboingding@lemmy.world · 1 pts · 117d
If you watched the video you'd see there are some interesting applications
west2seven@lemmy.dbzer0.com · -15 pts · 117d
"William Freeman Ph.D., then an electrical engineer at Polaroid and now an MIT professor, saw it and submitted a novel idea: a three-sided zipper. Instead of fastening pants, it'd be like a switch that seamlessly flipped chairs, tents, and purses between soft and rigid states, making them easier to pack and put together."
Interesting but useless.
chiliedogg@lemmy.world · 32 pts · 117d
If it's durable and affordable, I can see the use for things like bags and tents.
Or more specialized stuff like a camera strap that can zip into a basic tripod.
Drusas@fedia.io · 20 pts · 117d
Sounds like you haven't pitched many tents before. Or, more importantly, taken them down. Worst part of camping is packing it all up.
vrek@programming.dev · 9 pts · 117d
Jokes on you... I'm pitching a tent right now.. And sad lemmynsfw is gone
mushroommunk@lemmy.today · 13 pts · 117d
https://fedinsfw.app/
vrek@programming.dev · 7 pts · 117d
Thanks but it was really just a joke....saves link... I totally don't needcto visit their or ever even view it....
titanicx@lemmy.zip · 0 pts · 117d
Holy shit, so much fake shit on there, and most of it just ripped from other sites.
TheOctonaut@piefed.zip · 6 pts · 117d
Uh, do you understand that these sites are link aggregators? Collecting content from other platforms is the stated purpose
SaveTheTuaHawk@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 116d
titanicx@lemmy.zip · -6 pts · 117d
It's really not hard. Most people are just lazy or lack the ability to look at something for more then 30 seconds before becoming frustrated. I camp all the time, just spent a week out at a lake with 3 tents. All of them ended up back in their bags nicely, like they do at the end of every trip.
MagicShel@lemmy.zip · 5 pts · 117d
I used to camp once or twice a year. You don't develop the "muscle memory" to pack everything up nicely. So just just kinda throw it together meaning to sort it later. The next year you grab it and it's still all fucky and it's a huge effort to make it less so.
You're right insofar as for someone who does it all the time it's easy, but not so much for occasional users. To be fair that's sort of the opposite premise than you were responding to. They would've been better off suggesting you either never do it or do it all the time.
Drusas@fedia.io · 2 pts · 116d
Even for people who camp regularly, it's easy because you've done it so many times. That doesn't mean the process is ideal to begin with.
titanicx@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 116d
Point is even when I first started camping this was never really an issue because I literally took the time to just look at the tent and say oh it goes back together like this it's really not that difficult of a thing for somebody to spend an extra 2 minutes to look at their camping setup and realize how to fold everything back up.
MagicShel@lemmy.zip · 2 pts · 116d
Well I would disagree there. I can't even get a Christmas tree back in the box and that couldn't be easier to disassemble.
Drusas@fedia.io · 0 pts · 116d
No one said that it's hard, only that the process could be improved.
Yeah, we (mostly) all pack things up fine. That doesn't mean the process couldn't be made easier.
panda_abyss@lemmy.ca · 10 pts · 117d
tons of three sided joins on tents would benefit from this
betanumerus@lemmy.ca · 1 pts · 117d