Bionic Scale Mail Armor - Chiton inspired, highly flexible
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These are interlocking Scales best to be held together by steel wires or cables.
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Updated at source:
Model information
- Source
- Printables
- Category
- Cosplay & Costumes in general
- License
- Creative Commons — Attribution — Noncommercial
The sharp bend in the scales catches teeth, claws and blades and prevents them from piercing in between two scales. I designed this with a movement angle of 30° between two scales in both directions, so it takes about three scales for a 90° bend of the armor. At about 10mm scale size the armor already feels more like cloth than armor.
"Chitons have a shell composed of eight separate shell plates or valves.These plates overlap slightly at the front and back edges, and yet articulate well with one another. Because of this, the shell provides protection at the same time as permitting the chiton to flex upward when needed for locomotion over uneven surfaces, and even allows the animal to curl up into a ball when dislodged from rocks." - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiton
The design is inspired by chiton scales, similar to the representation in this study:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/337876536_Bioinspired_design_of_flexible_armor_based_on_chiton_scales
Assembly
Generally the broad version is favorable for protection, though the spiky normal version improves flexibility slightly. I'd recommend to print these out of ASA although my prototype is made of PETG. Supports are not needed for printing. I recommend crimping cable stops at the ends of your wires/cables to prevent the scales from being able to be pushed apart along the wires. For the first prototype I used a threading aid to pull nylon string through the small holes. If you're having difficulties with the hole size, scale them up accordingly and/or chose a better printing resolution.
Design Notes
19.01.2024: I uploaded version 2 with improved bottom surface load distribution. Impact forces and pressure is distributed over a larger area and dissipate more easily.
15.03.2023: I uploaded version 3 where the holes for the cable intersect in a criss cross pattern. Should provide more stability and prevent the scales from sliding apart along the cables. I haven't printed it yet, but I will soon. Consider it a digital prototype for now.
Other Designs
Check out my other bionic designs, you might find a thing you like.
- Bionic Bumblebee Wings for high lift applications
- Bionic Hawkmoth Wings for high agility applications