This paper seeks to advance the design of planar multiloop shape-changing mechanisms used in a variety of applications, such as morphing extrusion dies and airfoils. The presence of defects is a limiting factor in finding suitable single-degree-of-freedom (DOF) morphing mechanisms, particularly when the number of shapes to achieve is large and/or the changes among those shapes are significant. This paper presents methods of designing multi-DOF mechanisms to expand the design space in which to find suitable defect-free solutions. The primary method uses a building block approach with Assur group of class II chains, similar to the current 1-DOF synthesis procedure. It is compared to both the 1-DOF procedure and an alternative multi-DOF procedure that generates mechanisms with single-DOF subchains. In all cases, a genetic algorithm is employed to search the design space. Two example problems involving four prescribed shapes demonstrate that mechanisms exhibiting superior shape matching are achieved with the primary multi-DOF procedure, as compared to the other two procedures.
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February 2015
Research-Article
Design of Planar Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Morphing Mechanisms
Lawrence W. Funke,
Lawrence W. Funke
1
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: lfunke@nd.edu
Mechanical Engineering,
University of Notre Dame
,Notre Dame, IN 46556
e-mail: lfunke@nd.edu
1Corresponding author.
Search for other works by this author on:
James P. Schmiedeler,
James P. Schmiedeler
Fellow ASME
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: schmiedeler.4@nd.edu
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
University of Notre Dame
,Notre Dame, IN 46556
e-mail: schmiedeler.4@nd.edu
Search for other works by this author on:
Kai Zhao
Kai Zhao
Search for other works by this author on:
Lawrence W. Funke
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: lfunke@nd.edu
Mechanical Engineering,
University of Notre Dame
,Notre Dame, IN 46556
e-mail: lfunke@nd.edu
James P. Schmiedeler
Fellow ASME
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
e-mail: schmiedeler.4@nd.edu
Department of Aerospace and
Mechanical Engineering,
University of Notre Dame
,Notre Dame, IN 46556
e-mail: schmiedeler.4@nd.edu
Kai Zhao
1Corresponding author.
Manuscript received September 26, 2014; final manuscript received November 21, 2014; published online December 31, 2014. Assoc. Editor: Carl Nelson.
J. Mechanisms Robotics. Feb 2015, 7(1): 011007 (8 pages)
Published Online: February 1, 2015
Article history
Received:
September 26, 2014
Revision Received:
November 21, 2014
Online:
December 31, 2014
Citation
Funke, L. W., Schmiedeler, J. P., and Zhao, K. (February 1, 2015). "Design of Planar Multi-Degree-of-Freedom Morphing Mechanisms." ASME. J. Mechanisms Robotics. February 2015; 7(1): 011007. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4029289
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