Development of distributed compliant mechanism for two distinct applications: displacement amplifying and object holding mechanism

Abstract

Abstract Compliant mechanism finds its application in high precision devices for precise movements attaining positioning accuracy, micro actuation, aerospace, biomedical engineering, etc. A detailed study of compliant mechanisms capable of transferring coplanar motion/ force along with geometric amplification was undertaken and is presented. An iterative approach was undertaken successively to design and develop a displacement amplifying compliant mechanism (DaCM) within a specified design domain with the objective to obtain geometric amplification (GA) of 3. Also, an application of object holding mechanism using topology optimization has been presented. The optimized topology was further iterated for attaining desired objective function and modifications in the geometry are undertaken considering design for manufacturing and design for assembly principles. With the modifications undertaken, a reduction in (GA)T is observed and the volume fraction of the mechanism is increased than the base model resulting into more strength required for object holding. However, the designer needs to balance between stiffness and compliance based on the objective function of specific application.