2 DoF surgical training eye phantom for cataract surgery in a low-cost setting

The human eye is a very delicate yet highly intricate organ, and treatments such as cataract surgery call for meticulous precision. Ophthalmologists hone their skills over years of practice, which they initially acquired during their studies in medical schools. Basic skills such as globe fixation and capsulorhexis training have a very steep...

BICEP: A Bio-Inspired Compliant Elbow Prosthesis

Adopting compliant structures holds the potential to enhance the robustness and interaction capabilities of the next generation of bionic limbs. Although researchers have proficiently explored this approach in the design of artificial hands, they devoted little attention to the development of more proximal joints. This work presents a...

Analysis and design of a large-range bistable linear guide with high support stiffness and low parasitic motion

The exploration of compliant mechanisms, especially those providing linear motion, has become a central focus in recent engineering research. These mechanisms, characterized by their monolithic bodies and reduced component interactions, present an attractive alternative to traditional rigid mechanisms, having reduced friction, decreased energy...

Topology Optimization Algorithm for Synthesis of Dynamically Balanced Compliant Mechanisms

As mechanisms become increasingly precise, so becomes the reduction of noise and vibration increasingly important. One method for eliminating vibrations in mechanisms is dynamic balancing. This method prevents vibrations from occurring by designing the mechanism such that the inertial forces and moments of all bodies in the mechanism cancel each...

Concatenation of a Frequency Doubling Mechanism to Achieve Higher Frequency Multiplication

The range of motion of elastic energy sources is limited by the size of its transmission system. To enhance this range of motion without compromising the size, previous research introduced a frequency doubling mechanism with the intention to concatenate these mechanisms. This study serves to achieve higher numbers of frequency multiplication by...

Design of a compliant locally resonant metamaterial unit cell for low-frequency vibration attenuation

Vibrations have been studied in various engineering fields due to their detrimental and even destructive effects on structures. Suppressing low-frequency vibrations has been a research challenge for decades and is mostly achieved by implementing active vibration control techniques. In the last two decades, the emergence of locally resonant...

Design of an origami-inspired leaf flexure as an alternative to classical 2D flexures

Compliant mechanisms are often used in precision mechanism design as a suspension for translational stages. Their light weight makes them efficient and they do not suffer from friction or backlash. They transmit and transform a finite motion along their degrees of freedom via elastic deformation and provide high stiffness along their degrees of...

Mechanical amplification for sensitivity enhancement of a FBG-based sensor

High-tech machines are being improved by extend- ing product quality inspections through implementing better sensors. The resolution of an integrated optical sensor can be optimized through mechanical amplification. In this work mechanical sensitivity enhancement of a Fiber Bragg Grating based sensor is realized, through optimizing output...

A single input contact-based compliant switching mechanism

In the field of mechanical metamaterials, unconventional physical properties are realized by changing the geometric structure of a unit cell. A metamaterial is composed of numerous unit cells. Researchers have taken it a step further by making a reprogrammable unit cell. A reprogrammable metamaterial has additional elements or mechanisms in the...

Variable thickness and initially curved flexures for improved flexure mechanisms: Variable thickness and initially curved flexures for increased support stiffness and minimal stress

Flexure mechanisms are widely utilized in precision mechanisms, but their practical use is limited by three major factors, namely restricted range of motion, parasitic motion, and significant reduction in support stiffness when deflected. To address this limitation, in this research the potential of variable thickness flexures in minimizing the...

Parametric study of an elastic singularity-based frequency doubler for concatenation

The use of elastic frequency multipliers presents the ideal platform to address the coupling between the footprint and range of motion of elastic mechanisms. By transmitting unidirectional into reciprocating motion they efficiently increase the range of motion without a huge compromise in size. In this thesis, an elastic<br/>frequency doubler...

Compliant Full Film Lubricated Bearings: Concept Design & Development

Full film lubricated bearings are machine components that excel in their ability to carry high loads with very little friction. Their main archetypes, passive hydrodynamic and active hydrostatic bearings, are used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from hydraulic pumps to high precision machine benches. They are most commonly lubricated...

Compliant transmission mechanisms

Classical human-engineered transmission mechanisms such as linkages, gears, and couplings are well established designs which made out of multiple parts and rigid hinges. However, these mechanisms impose disadvantages such as wear, friction, low precision and reliability, need for assembly and lubrications, and difficulty for miniaturization. By...