Mechanical design for out-of-plane mode attenuation in flexure mechanisms

The most problematic eigenmode in machines involving flexure mechanisms is represented by flexural modes. However, it can be noticed that also out-of-plane modes, that occur in the space outside the nominal plane of movement of the mechanism, can be very important, especially in machines with several and coupled degrees of freedom, like 3D...

Flexure Design Optimization for Foldable Structures: Pseudo-Rigid Body Modeling and Multi-Objective Optimization

Compliant mechanisms have found their way in more and more applications in recent years, particularly in the aerospace and microsystems sectors. The benefits of compliant mechanisms stretch far, and can be exploited for large scale applications as well. Little research has been performed on the use of compliant mechanisms in large scale...

Approximate geometric non-linear analysis in topology optimization: A novel kind of structural analysis for topology optimization of finite range compliant mechanisms

Density-based topology optimization, when used to design structures that show geometrical non-linear behaviour, currently faces computational effort and stability issues. These issues are caused by the iterative method used in geometric non-linear structural analysis. On top of taking much computational effort to complete, this method encounters...

Precision mechanism design for 3-DOF in-plane alignment in µm and sub-mrad level

To assist in the fast alignment of tiny components, Prodrive Technologies has developed a type of camera system called the Component Alignment Sensor (CAS) that is used on a pick-and-place machine. The system uses an optical target as the reference during its assembly and final testing steps. Two main components of the target are a glass reticle...

Design of a Tunable Resonant Scanning Mirror

Scanning mirror is a widely used device in many optical systems to position reflected beam. Existing products include galvanometer and resonant scanner. They are intended for accurate positioning at low frequency range and fast scanning at the specified high frequency respectively. However, when a wide frequency range is involved, they might not...

Modelling the axis drift of short wire flexures and increasing their support stiffness using polymers

For steel flexures, complex geometries are required to reach high support stiffness and limit axis drift over large ranges of motion. These complex flexures are expensive and difficult to manufacture. This paper presents a method of designing short, polymer wire flexures with high support stiffness and modelling their axis drift using a novel...

The design of a compliant shape-preserving ring

Compliant shape-preserving mechanisms fullfil a tiny niche within the established research field of compliant mechanisms. To date no report exists on a compliant shape-preserving ring, that is while these mechanisms can give rise to a multitude of practical applications. They can essentially act as novel sealing mechanisms, compliant grippers or...