An Efficient Method for Synthesis of Mechanisms Using an Optimization Method

The objective here is to design a mechanism so that a tracer point follows a given curve during a portion of the working cycle. To quantify a proposed design, the deviation between the desired curve the tracer point trajectory is measured. A gradient based optimization procedure is used to minimize this deviation. The design sensitivity analyses are efficiently computed using the direct differentiation method. The joint coordinate method is used to analyze the mechanisms. This formulation is advantageous because superfluous variables are eliminated from the planar analysis.