Techniques for Synthesis of Inherently Force Balanced Mechanisms

Abstract

Compared to common dynamic balancing approaches, Inherent Dynamic Balancing aims at designing mechanisms with dynamic balance as a starting point. Then inherently balanced principal vector linkage architectures are used from which balanced linkage solutions are derived, ensuring the optimal kinematics for motions with a center of mass that is always stationary. This paper addresses various techniques for modifying principal vector linkage architectures in the synthesis process while maintaining the inherent balance. The techniques consist of constraining the mobility of links, shifting links to another position, and exchanging links with other machine elements such as sliders, gears, and belt and chain drives. To illustrate the potential, a synthesized 2-DoF inherently force balanced mechanism solution incorporating various techniques is presented and numerically evaluated for force balance.