Design of Four-, Six-, and Eight-Bar Linkages for Rectilinear Movement

This paper examines the results of synthesis algorithms for four-, six-, and eight-bar linkages for rectilinear movement. Rectilinear movement is useful for applications such as suspensions that provide linear movement with out a rotation component. The algorithm yields one four-bar, seven six-bar, and 32 eight-bar linkages. The synthesis strategy begins with a task guided by a multi-degree of freedom chain. The algorithm computes constraints to guide the required movement with one degree-of-freedom. Each computed design is analyzed to ensure smooth movement through the specified set of task positions. Finally, we identify the design that has the least variation from a pure rectilinear movement.