The research goal of this project is the development of a method for the design of compliant mechanisms, systems which are composed partially or entirely of elastic elements and which undergo large deflections. Traditionally, the area of mechanisms design has been dominated by the mechanics of rigid body analysis and synthesis. It is beginning to incorporate advantages of large displacement elastic elements. However, formalized treatment of the design process for this type of mechanism has been lacking. Heuristic means are often inadequate as predictive tools for design, and trial and error prototyping as a design approach can be prohibitive in cost. This research constitutes an effort to develop a methodology for compliant mechanism design which will allow the designer to create desired mechanisms systematically and economically. The research comprises three phases of activity including a development phase, a formulation phase, and an evaluation phase. In the first phase, the objective is to develop a nomenclature or terminology, and kinematic concepts for compliant mechanisms. Some work has already been done in this area and the intent is to extend it. Specifically, the compliance number concept, which is related to the number of mechanism degrees of freedom will be refined. Other parameters will be defined as necessary. The formulation phase consists of two activities. The first is an effort to categorize compliant mechanism synthesis types by structure, function, or other criteria. The second activity attempts to systematically establish rules and guidelines for design conceptualization of compliant mechanisms. The third research phase is also a two part activity. The first includes mathematical modeling, development of efficient numerical algorithms, and use of computer simulation and optimization techniques in arriving at design solutions for compliant mechanisms. The second part of the evaluation phase consists of validation of prediction techniques, design procedures and kinematic concepts through extensive prototyping and testing.
