Synthesis of Planar Compliances With Mechanisms Having Six Compliant Components: Geometric Approach

Abstract In this paper, the synthesis of any planar compliance with a six-component compliant mechanism is addressed. The mechanisms studied are either serial mechanisms with six elastic joints or parallel mechanisms with six springs. For each type of mechanism, conditions on the mechanism configurations that must be satisfied to realize a given compliance are developed. The geometric significance of each condition is identified and graphically represented. Geometric construction-based synthesis procedures for both types of mechanism are developed. These procedures allow one to select each elastic component from a restricted space based on its geometry.