A reconfigurable mechanical structure inspired by the mechanism of Rubik’s cube: Design, analysis and experiment

Reconfigurable mechanical structures refer to a class of systems whose geometric configurations, topological structures, or functional characteristics can be altered through systematic designs. The characteristics of Rubik’s Cube, which achieves an exponential number of topological configurations through rotational transformation rules and modular combinatorics, provide an idealized model for studying modular reconfigurable mechanical structures. This research proposes a design of a reconfigurable mechanical structure inspired by topological mechanisms of Rubik’s Cube (RC-RMS), integrated with mass-spring-damping units (MSDU), to investigate its multiple-dimensional dynamic characteristics for vibration suppression with a programmable algorithm, numerical analyses, and experimental validations. The dynamic analyses reveal that the developed RC-RMS enables resonant frequency tuning through rotation, and exhibits different dynamic response characteristics manipulated via the six degrees of freedom (6 DOF). Experimental validations via the single degree of freedom (single DOF) and two degrees of freedom (2 DOF) vibration platform are further constructed. The results of forced vibration experiments demonstrate that each configuration with the z-DOF of RC-RMS could achieve the vibration suppression of the amplitude in the single degree of freedom vibration platform by more than 64 %. This research provides a novel idea for designs of reconfigurable mechanical structures inspired by Rubik’s Cube, which are able to modify its dynamic features to satisfy dynamic demands in a complex excitation environment, achieve energy absorption with multiple frequencies and directions, and realize a wider range of functional combinations through modular combinations.