Self assembling magnetic tiles

Abstract

Self assembly is an emerging technology in the field of manufacturing. Inspired by nature's ability to self assembly proteins from amino acids, this thesis attempts to demonstrate self assembly on the macro-scale. The primary focus of the thesis was to improve the design of magnetic tile self assembly. By constructing a flexible chain embedded with permanent magnets, self assembly is achieved through magnetic interaction. Theory has shown that such a chain is capable of self assembling into any 3D shape without self-intersection. The 3D shape created by the chain is predetermined by the sequence of the tiles. For this thesis, two chains were manufactured, each self assembling into one distinct shape. One chain self assembled into a sphere while the other self assembled into a '3-leaf clover'. An important characteristic shared by the two chains is that they both were constructed from 48 tiles that had the same proportion of north-pole and south-pole facing magnets. The difference between the two 3D shapes created is a direct result of the magnet tile sequencing, only. To connect the tiles, two different types of connectors were designed: one rigid and one flexible.

(cont.) The rigid connector design was able to stabilize the chain geometry; however some joints displayed excessive rotational friction. Additionally, the chain was not robust and was easily broken if dropped. When the chain was manufactured using flexible connectors, the amount of friction in the joints was significantly reduced. However, the chain lost geometric stability since the flexible connectors could not overcome some torsion forces created by the magnets. Ultimately, this thesis provided supporting data for the theoretical arguments concerning the ability of a flexible chain to self assemble into arbitrary 3D shapes. By predetermining a sequence of magnetic tiles, it can be known with certainty what shape the chain will assume. This thesis furthered the understanding of the mechanisms of self assembly, providing groundwork for the eventual application on the nano-scale.