SPADES: Software for Synthesizing Spatial 4C Mechanisms

In this paper we present SPADES, an interactive graphics based software package for SPA tial mechanism DES ign. The program provides a platform for the synthesis of a mechanism that guides a body through either three or four prescribed positions in space. The purpose of this work is to assemble the current spatial 4C synthesis theory into a software package that is useful for spatial mechanism design and research.