Depends 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.

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clickety_clack 2 days ago | parent [-]

Interesting, which material?

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lightedman 2 days ago | parent | next [-]

For 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 2 days ago \| parent \| next [-]
		Is PLA stiffer somehow in this state than it would be as a conventional beam?
	▲	fragmede 2 days ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I don't want door zippers, I want a door!

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pajko a day ago | parent | prev [-]

It looks like this could be made from any metal, where the small segments are connected together like links of a chain.