The use of conics in studying the characteristics of some spatial mechanisms

Abstract

The method of the “ellipse diagram” previously introduced by the author, for analysis of the motions of spatial mechanisms, is extended. It is then applied to three types of mechanisms, an RSRRR mechanism, a four-bar multi-loop mechanism, and an RPSC mechanism. It is shown that these geometric constructions are also valuable in synthesis because they can predict changes in the motion caused by altering the parameters of a mechanism.