Assessment Criteria for the Conceptual Design of Six-Bar Linkages

The synthesis of six-bar linkages can yield a number of design candidates for a variety of linkage structures. Assessment criteria that sort prospective candidates are needed to assist the designer in finding effective linkage designs for further study. In this paper, we present the criteria based on easily computed measures that describe the shape and size of the linkage. These criteria are used to sort designs in four case studies, where we had previously found successful linkages by exhaustive examination.Copyright © 2007 by ASME