A fairly general method for optimum synthesis of planar mechanisms

Abstract This article introduces a new method for optimum synthesis of planar mechanisms with lower pairs. The method uses a single objective function for any mechanism and for any type of synthesis, making it possible to perform even mixed syntheses. It is also possible to consider a wide variety of constraints and initial conditions. The error minimization process is carried out on two levels, and techniques which have been proved efficient for the problem under consideration are described. Finally, the article presents several examples which have been solved by the proposed method.