Eight-bar Port Closure Tool
This port closure tool curls back on itself to provide internal stitches to close a trocar port used for non-invasive surgery. This is the result of a collaboration between Kaustubh Sonawale and Jon Stokes.
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Linkage Design for Wing Flapping
Mark Plecnik shows that six-bar function generators can be used to drive a serial chain and produce a realistic wing flapping gait. Using trajectories obtained through video analysis by researchers Bret W. Tobalske and Kenneth P. Dial, “Flight Kinematics of Black-billed Magpies and Pigeons Over A Wide Range of Speeds,” Mark constructed functions for the joints of the serial chain, designed the function generators, and animated the results. Select this link for more information on Mark Plecnik and his work.
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Eight-bar motion amplifier
Kaustubh Sonawale and Yang Liu worked together on this design study for a micro-mechanical motion amplifier. It is an interconnected set of three eight-bar linkages.
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UCI’s 2013 Fall Design Review
Over 80 student teams from across the Samueli School of Engineering presented their senior project plans for 2013-2014. Follow their progress at the Winter Design Review in March 2014.
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Mechanical Advantage
This video from the University of Dayton narrated by Prof. Andrew Murray provides an excellent illustration of the important concept of mechanical advantage.
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Retractable handle
This six-bar linkage was developed at the request of a designer who wanted the handle to move in and out along a circle, while the linkage and attachments were located in the rectangle. This linkage designed by Kaustubh Sonawale seems to meet his needs.
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Cameron Turner’s Wheelbarrow Linkage
Cameron Turner designed a four-bar and a six-bar linkage to assist the dumping movement of a wheelbarrow. This video provides a comparison of their operation.
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Brendan Smith’s Monitor Linkage
Brendan Smith designed this six-bar linkage to guide a big-screen TV from a horizontal position hidden in the ceiling into a vertical position for convenient viewing.
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Bolt Insertion Six-bar Linkage
This linkage was designed to guide a powered screw driver through a specified set of locations to automatically insert and tighten bolts. The design is achieved by constraining an RPR serial chain by adding two RR dyads. The work is a collaboration between Kevin Hung and Mark Plecnik.
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Rice Transplanter Six-bar
This is a revised version of the rice transplanter linkage designed by Mark Plecnik. It uses an RPR chain to provide the basic movement, which is then constrained by the addition of two RR dyads. The result is a six-bar linkage that provides a more direct movement from selection of the seedling to insertion in the ground.
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