A planar or two-dimensional (2D) mechanism is the combination of two or more machine elements that are designed to convey a force or motion across parallel planes. For any mechanical engineer, young or old, an understanding of planar mechanism design is fundamental. Mechanical components and complex machines, such as engines or robots, are often designed and conceptualised in 2D before being extended into 3D. Designed to encourage a clear understanding of the nature and design of planar mechanisms, this book favours a frank and straightforward approach to teaching the basics of planar mechanism design and the theory of machines with fully worked examples throughout. Key Features: Provides simple instruction in the design and analysis of planar mechanisms, enabling the student to easily navigate the text and find the desired material Covers topics of fundamental importance to mechanical engineering, from planar mechanism kinematics, 2D linkage analyses and 2D linkage design to the fundamentals of spur gears and cam design Shows numerous example solutions using EES (Engineering Equation Solver) and MATLAB software, with appendices dedicated to explaining the use of both computer tools Follows end-of-chapter problems with clearly detailed solutions

A study of the kinematics and design of planar mechanisms. It introduces fundamental concepts of instantaneous planar kinematics; deals with dimensional synthesis, or design, of planar linkages; and describes the harmonic analysis of motion and kinetic energy in planar four-link mechanisms.

Planar linkages play a very important role in mechanical engineering. As the simplest closed chain mechanisms, planar four-bar linkages are widely used in mechanical engineering, civil engineering and aerospace engineering. Design of Special Planar Linkages proposes a uniform design theory for planar four-bar linkages. The merit of the method proposed in this book is that it allows engineers to directly obtain accurate results when there are such solutions for the specified n precise positions; otherwise, the best approximate solutions will be found. This book discusses the kinematics and reachable workspace and singularity of a planar 3-RRR linkage, which can be used to analyze other planar linkages. Then a foldable stair that retains the walking conversions of human beings and all the merits of a concrete stair in civil engineering is described along with a lifting guidance mechanism that has the advantages of high strength, high rigidity, lightweight overconstraint trusses and motion flexibility. The method proposed in this book can be applied to other planar linkages. This book offers a valuable resource for scientists, researchers, engineers, graduate students in mechanical engineering especially those interested in engineering design, robotics and automation. Jingshan Zhao, Associate professor; Zhijing Feng and Fulei Chu, professor; Ning Ma, Dr., all work at the Department of Mechanical Engineering, Tsinghua University.

Traditionally, mechanisms are created by designer's intuition, ingenuity, and experience. However, such an ad hoc approach cannot ensure the identification of all possible design alternatives, nor does it necessarily lead to optimum design. Mechanism Design: Enumeration of Kinematic Structures According to Function introduces a methodology for systematic creation and classification of mechanisms. With a partly analytical and partly algorithmic approach, the author uses graph theory, combinatorial analysis, and computer algorithms to create kinematic structures of the same nature in a systematic and unbiased manner. He sketches mechanism structures, evaluating them with respect to the remaining functional requirements, and provides numerous atlases of mechanisms that can be used as a source of ideas for mechanism and machine design. He bases the book on the idea that some of the functional requirements of a desired mechanism can be transformed into structural characteristics that can be used for the enumeration of mechanisms. The most difficult problem most mechanical designers face at the conceptual design phase is the creation of design alternatives. Mechanism Design: Enumeration of Kinematic Structures According to Function presents you with a methodology that is not available in any other resource.

Introduction to Mechanism Design: with Computer Applications provides an updated approach to undergraduate Mechanism Design and Kinematics courses/modules for engineering students. The use of web-based simulations, solid modeling, and software such as MATLAB and Excel is employed to link the design process with the latest software tools for the design and analysis of mechanisms and machines. While a mechanical engineer might brainstorm with a pencil and sketch pad, the final result is developed and communicated through CAD and computational visualizations. This modern approach to mechanical design processes has not been fully integrated in most books, as it is in this new text.

Classic, comprehensive treatment covers Euclidean displacements; instantaneous kinematics; two-position, three-position, four-and-more position theory; special motions; multiparameter motions; kinematics in other geometries; and special mathematical methods.

This text describes examples of the spherical mechanism that are seen in everyday life, such as the universal joint, a swiveling electric fan and a pair of bevel gears. The subject has received massive impetus from robotics, where many of the results of the theory find their application.

The study of the kinematics and dynamics of machines lies at the very core of a mechanical engineering background. Although tremendous advances have been made in the computational and design tools now available, little has changed in the way the subject is presented, both in the classroom and in professional references. Fundamentals of Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines and Mechanisms brings the subject alive and current. The author's careful integration of Mathematica software gives readers a chance to perform symbolic analysis, to plot the results, and most importantly, to animate the motion. They get to "play" with the mechanism parameters and immediately see their effects. The downloadable resources contain Mathematica-based programs for suggested design projects. As useful as Mathematica is, however, a tool should not interfere with but enhance one's grasp of the concepts and the development of analytical skills. The author ensures this with his emphasis on the understanding and application of basic theoretical principles, unified approach to the analysis of planar mechanisms, and introduction to vibrations and rotordynamics.

In the field of mechanism design, kinematic synthesis is a creative means to produce mechanism solutions. Combined with the emergence of powerful personal computers, mathematical analysis software and the development of quantitative methods for kinematic synthesis, there is an endless variety of possible mechanism solutions that users are free to e