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MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana by Yoshiaki Ito

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana by Yoshiaki Ito is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2020 A' Design Award Quri Premiu in Pukllana Kamay Competition Category.


QuriPukllana· 2020

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana

by Yoshiaki Ito

Client: MoFU

A' Design Award Quri Premiu Winner in Pukllana Category

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The Design

About MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana

Morphits nisqakuna (ñawpaqpi MoFU sutiyuq) t'ikrakuq pukllanakunam kanku, chaynallataqmi yuyay sasachakuy pukllanakunapas kanku. Kay cuboid rikch'aqyuq pukllanakunaqa cajonkunamanta lluqsimunku hinaspa kicharikunku imaymana uywakunaman: kuchikunaman, k'usikunaman, uturunkukunaman, hipopótamokunaman, jirafakunaman ima. Sapa uywaqa kikinnin sumaq hinaspa sapanchasqa ruwaykunayuqmi, chaymi munakuylla personajekuna kanku. Ichaqa cheqaq sasachakuyqa kaypiqa tarikun: Morphits nisqakunata kutiykachaspa allinta cuboid rikch'aqman qollumpiy, chaypaqqa yuyaywan llamk'ana kanan kay sasachakuy ruwaytataq allichanapaq, allinta cajonninkunaman kutichinapaq churanaykupaq.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Quri Premiu

MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana A' Design Award Quri Premiu mishak kan, ancha jatun yupaychay, kayta ñawpak kallari, sumak shinallatak mancharina diseñukunaman kun. Quri mishak kashkakunaka mushuk yuyay achka, ñawpakta rikuk shinallatak achikyaska rurashkakunami, paykunata rurakkunapak yachayta, yuyayta shinallatak ushayta rikuchinku. MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana ashtawan alabashka, mushuk ñankunata churak shinallatak hatun valorta kuk yuyay kanata munanku. Kay Quri Premiu japishka diseñuka hanak, yupaychashka rurashka kan, arti, siensia, diseñu shinallatak tekinolojía ñawpak ñankunata kichuk. MoFU Mighty Omega Folding Universe Sasachakuy Pukllana munayta kallarichin, yuyayta kallarichin, ruraytapash kallarichin shinallatak kuyaychin.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties
MoFU are transforming toys that are also brainteaser puzzles. Starting as identically shaped cuboids that slide out of boxes on drawers, each MoFU unfolds into a different kind of animal - pig, monkey, tiger, hippo, and giraffe. Each animal is its own character with cute and iconic features, but each is also a distinct puzzle. Folding a MoFU back into the correct cuboid shape so it can perfectly fit back into its box is a brainteasing challenge.
Dimensions & Packaging
85mm x 70mm x 60mm when folded in their 3D-printed boxes and at their most compact. Dimensions change with various poses. The maximum possible height is the fully unfolded giraffe at 370mm, and the minimum possible height is a fully recumbent monkey at 35mm.
Tags
Toys, Animals, Ecology, Recycled, Plastic, Geometric, Abstract, Transforming, Brainteaser, Puzzle
Production Technology
MoFU are 3D-printed using 100% recycled PET plastic from water bottles using selective laser sintering (SLS) 3D printing. The 3D-printed pieces of the toy are united by elastic bands which run through the center of each piece. The pieces are finished with polyshot surfacing and deep-dye coloring for safe use by children and maximum lifespan.
Design Challenge
I had to think about the shape of each piece very carefully and how it could fit with its neighboring piece like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Additionally all of the pieces had to be folded together into the rectangular shape of their box.
Research
Each piece of each toy had to be precisely shaped to fit with its neighboring piece like a 3D jigsaw puzzle. Pieces that approximate parts of an animal body must also be folded and nestled in a specific way, fitting perfectly together to revert to a cuboid shape.

Finding the perfect tension of the elastic bands was difficult as the pieces must freely rotate and fold, but not be at all loose. The holes bored for the bands had to be precise to the half-millimeter for the toy to function properly.
Inspiration
Japanese origami, Kumiki puzzles, Transformers.
Project Duration
MoFU project development started in Brooklyn, NY in April 2018. The first animal, a pig, was created in May 2018; the monkey was finished in September 2018; the tiger in December 2018, the hippo in March 2019, and the giraffe in Jun 2019.
Operation Flow
MoFU emerge from identically shaped boxes, but each transforms into a different animal figure with articulated joints. Elastic bands form the animals' tendons and ligaments, allowing maximum transformability and infinite possible poses.

The toys are figurines, but they are also puzzles with varying degrees of difficulty. Folding them back into the correct cuboid shape so that they can fit back into their boxes ranges from simple for a child hippo to difficult for an adult monkey.
Patents
Yoshiaki Ito
Image Credits
Photgrapes by Yoshiaki Ito, Video by Aria Wetzler and Yana Birykova

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