Entries by Prof. McCarthy

Construction of a Leg Mechanism

This is a series of four videos that show how to: Specify three positions for the foot of a leg consisting of a hip and knee joint; Use three position synthesis to design a four-bar function generator to guide the hip joint; Then use three position synthesis to design a second four-bar function generator to […]

LINCAGES and the History of Kinematic Synthesis

The linkage design software developed by Art Erdman and his students at the University of Minnesota, called LINCAGES: Linkage INteractive Computer Analysis and Graphically Enhanced Synthesis Package, was developed in 1977 through 2000. This is a link to his information site. His guide map that evaluates all of the linkages formed from points on the […]

Strider and TrotBot at DIYWalkers.com

Just after I published my book Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms with its emphasis on leg mechanisms, I found two more interesting eight-bar legs from the designers at DIYWalkers.com This is a Geogebra animation of the leg mechanism for the Strider walker. It is a symmetrical design that allows the formation of a second foot assembly […]

About Geogebra-Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms

The animated four-bar linkage FHJD is constructed using dimensions as the quadrilateral ABCD. The dynamic geometry software Geogebra maintains the dimensions of FHJD as the points of ABCD are moved. The result is that the animated linkage changes to match the new dimensions. This can be seen in following Movie.  For more information see Kinematic […]