Kinematic Synthesis of Mechanisms
![Six-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/maxresdefault-260x185.jpg)
Six-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights
![Prototype Four-Legged Mechanical Walker](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/maxresdefault-1-260x185.jpg)
Prototype Four-Legged Mechanical Walker
![Four-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/maxresdefault-2-260x185.jpg)
Four-Legged Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Highlights
![Six-Legged Mechanical Walker](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Six-legged-walker-team-12-260x185.jpg)
The Design of Mechanical Walkers: Spring 2020 Student Projects
![Fall 2019 Mechanical Walker Prototypes](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/maxresdefault-260x185.jpg)
Fall 2019 Mechanical Walker Prototypes
![Walker Teams 2, 4 and 5](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-13-at-1.48.24-PM-260x185.jpg)
Four-legged Mechanical Walkers: Teams 2, 4 and 5
![Mechanical Walker designed by Team 6](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Screen-Shot-2019-12-08-at-1.02.45-PM-260x185.jpg)
Four Legged Mechanical Walker: Teams 1, 3 and 6
![Halloween Display 2019](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/maxresdefault-260x185.jpg)
Halloween Display 2019
![More Halloween Linkage Designs](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/maxresdefault-260x185.jpg)
More Halloween Linkage Designs
![Halloween Design Project](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/maxresdefault-1-260x185.jpg)
Halloween Design Project
![Walker Group 6](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Screen-Shot-2019-06-06-at-2.59.20-PM-260x185.jpg)
Mechanical Walker Project Animations: Spring 2019
![Leg Mechanism for a Mechanical Walker](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maxresdefault-260x185.jpg)
Leg Mechanism for a Mechanical Walker
![Construction for Three-Position Synthesis of a Four-Bar Linkage](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maxresdefault-1-260x185.jpg)
Construction for Three-Position Synthesis of a Four-Bar Linkage
![Five Position Synthesis of Four-bar Function Generators](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maxresdefault-2-260x185.jpg)
Five Position Synthesis of Four-bar Function Generators
![Construction for Two-Position Synthesis of a Four-Bar Linkage](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/maxresdefault-3-260x185.jpg)
Construction for Two-Position Synthesis of a Four-Bar Linkage
Machine Design
![Oberlin Sphere](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/Oberlin1a-260x185.jpg)
Instruments for Natural Philosophy
![Four-bar Synthesis](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Four-bar-Synthesis-260x185.jpg)
Linkage Synthesis Demonstration
![](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/images-1.jpg)
Technical information for mechanical components
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Parallel Mechanisms information center
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Mechanical Properties of Steel
![Total Materia](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Total-Materia-260x96.jpg)
Unified Numbering System for Materials
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![Periodic Table](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Periodic-Table-260x185.png)
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Materials Selection in Mechanical Design
Lecture Notes
![Spherical Fourbar](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Spherical-Fourbar-260x185.jpg)
![21st Century Kinematics](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/21st-Century-Kinematics-260x185.jpg)
![Kinematics and Computers](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/11/Kinematics-and-Computers-260x185.jpg)
Kinematics, Polynomials and Computers–A Brief History
![Mathematica Notebook for Linkage Synthesis](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/LinkageSynthesis.jpg)
Mathematica Notebook for Four-Bar Linkage Synthesis
![Cam Driven Artist](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Cam-Driven-Artist-260x185.jpg)
Cam-driven artist mechanical toy
![Delft Models](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Delft-Models-260x185.jpg)
Linkage models at TU-Delft
![Elementary Robotics](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/McCarthyNotes-5cover.jpg)
![Intro to Mechanisms](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/Intro-to-Mechanisms-260x185.jpg)
CMU’s Introduction to Mechanisms
![](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/McCarthyNotes-3cover.jpg)
Four-bar linkage analysis: Slider-crank
![Four-bar linkage analysis](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/McCarthyNotes-2cover1.jpg)
Four-bar linkage analysis: 4R quadrilateral
![](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/McCarthyNotes-1cover.jpg)
DC motor torque and power
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![](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/brittonlecture.jpg)
Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing
![Chris Sangwin](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/Chris-Sangwin-260x185.jpg)
C. J. Sangwin’s linkage movies
![](https://mechanicaldesign101.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/brock3.jpg)
Brock Engineering’s mechanism home page
Have a linkage design challenge? We can help.
Contact us on this feedback form. We look forward to providing our MechGen synthesis software to simplify your linkage design process in SolidWorks.
Linkage Synthesis Theory
The mathematical synthesis of linkage movement provides a powerful tool for invention. However, the specified task may not have useful solutions, and the search for successful tasks can be discouraging.
To address this, we automate the search and evaluation process within tolerance zones specified by the designer. These Mathematica notebooks implement our approach to finding defect-free four-bar linkage designs.
RR Constraint Synthesis for Function Generation
Synthesis of an RR Constraint
An important technique in kinematic synthesis is the design of an RR constraint that controls the movement of two joints of an existing serial chain. For a given RR serial chain, like OA shown above, we can specify its movement through five required task positions. This provides the information needed to design an RR constraint, GW above, that ensures the system moves through the required task positions.
This technique is called function generation in the kinematics synthesis literature, because the synthesized RR constraint maintains a specified relationship between the joint angles alpha and beta at joints O and A.
Select this link to download our Mathematica notebook: RR-Constraint Synthesis. It uses a given RR chain and the associated task to determine tolerance zones, where it searches for defect-free designs. As above, this file may download as text file so remove the .txt extension, then it should be readable by Mathematica. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Five-Position Synthesis of a Four-bar Linkage
Here we show a four-bar linkage designed to guide the coupler through five required task positions.
Please download and try our updated Mathematica notebook: Five-Position Synthesis. It searches in the vicinity of the required task for sets of positions that yield defect-free four-bar linkages. It may download as textfile so remove the .txt extension, then it should be readable by Mathematica.
The video below shows the operation of this notebook.
If you have any problems or advice, please contact me.