Method of inverse kinematic synthesis of a flat lever mechanism

Authors: Kotov A.V., Krol D.G., Ph. D. in Phys. And Math., Assoc. Prof.

This article is a translation of the original work of the same name, which was written in Russian and published in a peer-reviewed journal. I decided to prepare and publish its English version for several reasons. First, science and engineering thinking have no language barriers. Publishing a translation is a step towards drawing attention to my research from a wider audience, including foreign colleagues, engineers and researchers who may find the proposed method useful. Second, publishing the article in English helps increase the visibility of the blog itself in foreign search engines. This means that my developments and findings are more likely to reach those who truly need them. I am open to discussion, feedback and professional dialogue with anyone who finds the topic of my research relevant. I will be glad if this material proves useful beyond the Russian-speaking audience.

Introduction

The kinematic synthesis of a planar lever mechanism consists in determining the parameters of its kinematic scheme according to the specified motion conditions of the driven link. One of the varieties of this problem is the synthesis of a mechanism that reproduces a given trajectory of motion of a certain link or point [1]. Such mechanisms are still in demand in many branches of mechanical engineering [2 - 4], and their optimal design is directly related to the formulation and solution of the kinematic synthesis problem.

Despite the continuous development and improvement of methods for kinematic synthesis of planar lever mechanisms, there is no unified approach to solving this problem. Known graphical methods [5] are effective only for the simplest planar lever mechanisms and are practically inapplicable for multi-link mechanisms. Grapho-analytical methods [6] of kinematic synthesis are developed for solving problems for specific lever mechanisms and, as a rule, do not possess high flexibility in solving other problems. Known analytical methods [7 - 9] of kinematic synthesis of multi-link lever mechanisms are in the vast majority quite complex, cumbersome, and may use optimization algorithms unavailable for detailed study. Therefore, the development of new, visual, and universal methods for kinematic synthesis of planar lever mechanisms capable of easy adaptation in specialized mathematical packages and programming languages still represents an important scientific and practical task.

Figure 1 – Kinematic scheme of a planar lever mechanism

Evaluation of the possibility of applying the deformable polyhedron method to the problem of optimization kinematic synthesis of a flat lever mechanism

Authors: Kotov A.V., Krol D. G., Ph. D. in Phys. And Math., Assoc. Prof.

This article is a translation of the original work of the same name, which was written in Russian and published in a peer-reviewed journal. I decided to prepare and publish its English version for several reasons. First, science and engineering thinking have no language barriers. Publishing a translation is a step towards drawing attention to my research from a wider audience, including foreign colleagues, engineers and researchers who may find the proposed method useful. Second, publishing the article in English helps increase the visibility of the blog itself in foreign search engines. This means that my developments and findings are more likely to reach those who truly need them. I am open to discussion, feedback and professional dialogue with anyone who finds the topic of my research relevant. I will be glad if this material proves useful beyond the Russian-speaking audience.

Introduction. In modern mechanical engineering, four-bar linkages are widely used due to their unique combination of design and functional advantages. These mechanisms, with a minimum number of links, make it possible to realize complex trajectories of the working parts of machines through the rational selection of their geometric parameters [1]. However, due to increased requirements for the efficiency, accuracy and reliability of lever mechanisms, traditional design methods based on experience and intuition are no longer sufficient to achieve the required kinematic parameters. Therefore, optimization kinematic synthesis of lever mechanisms is becoming a key factor ensuring the competitiveness of the equipment being developed.

In educational practice, the main focus is on geometric methods of synthesis of lever mechanisms, which are clear and relatively simple, but inferior in accuracy to the solution of the problem [2]. Recently, due to the widespread introduction of mathematical packages and programming languages, there has been a significant leap in the application of numerical optimization algorithms for kinematic synthesis of lever mechanisms [3 - 7]. As a result, geometric synthesis methods are gradually receding into the background, giving way to more accurate and efficient machine algorithms.

To date, there is no universal numerical algorithm capable of effectively solving the entire spectrum of optimization problems [8]. The application of popular gradient algorithms to the problems of optimization kinematic synthesis of lever mechanisms requires large computational resources and is not always effective. At the same time, the potential of gradient-free algorithms for solving this class of problems is not fully covered in the scientific literature, which, given their high adaptability for software implementation [9], requires additional research.

Aim of the research. To evaluate the possibility of applying a multi-parameter gradient-free optimization algorithm based on the deformed polyhedron method to solve the problem of optimization kinematic synthesis of a flat lever mechanism. To provide a qualitative assessment of the use of this method when it is implemented in the mathematical package PTC MathCAD.