MSRaynsford

This pattern comes off the square layout and into a hexagonal layout, there are 3 branches to each spiral which gives is natural flex in different planes. ( svg here ) All of this is interesting but I mentioned before that most of the flex comes from the base material. I've attached a picture of it here, because it is just 0.8mm thick it can already perform incredible bends that you wouldn't expect from plywood. I'm fairly sure that 90% of the stuff done with living hinges could just be done with this ply , no need for additional cutting.

I decided to draw some of my own flexible sheet patterns because it's always nice to give things back. This is the same layout but with spirals instead of straight lines. The spirals are long and I hoped this would make it more flexible, which I think it is. ( svg here )

0.8mm ply I saw this  instructable  a while back on how to cut a flexible ply sheet, the idea is that it can flex in multiple planes at once. I was a bit sceptical and when it came up in conversation again this week I took the opportunity to cut some samples for someone else. The result is a relatively flexible sheet, I wouldn't really call it a super flexible sheet.  I tested it by pressing it down over an object and seeing how well it deformed. I started using 2.7mm poplar plywood, my favourite material that is already lightweight and flexible. It took about 12 minutes to cut a 200x200mm section. It flexes quite well in one plane and with encouragement in the second. I still wanted more so I cut it again in 1.5mm ply and 0.8mm ply. The thinner the ply, the more flexible the sheet. It helps that the 0.8mm stuff is already called flexible ply and can be wrapped around without any cutting.  Given the amount of time it takes to do this kind of cutting it would help to

The final image of the bunch, again this one didn't shine up quite so well being white on black but they were nice to try. I can't wait to see what Ruth comes up with for me.

White on black doesn't work quite as well as black on white  but the base artwork is good enough to cover it. The leetro controller doesn't really do greyscale, it's only capable of on/off engraving so this was done using a halftone  image. The artwork was prepared in Paint.net before engraving. I'm working on a greyscale engraving system for my Whitetooth but it's slow going with all my other distractions. You can see how the darker border in the background does actually show up a little. This image would probably benefit from some outlining on the hammers.