Inference of link positions for planar closed-loop mechanisms

Abstract A system is presented for the automated assembly of planar closed-loop mechanisms. The system is a combination of an inference-of-position technique and a kinematic orientation analysis method. Given a set of mechanism components in unassembled position and orientation, the system automatically calculates the assembly transformation matrices for each component such that a feasible configuration of the mechanism is obtained. The system requires relatively simple input data: the position of the joint location and the mating relationships of associated geometric features. The system facilitates the design and analysis of mechanisms by relieving the user of the manual specification of the assembly configuration. Several examples are presented that demonstrate the capabilities of the automated assembly system.