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Tuesday 9 February 2016

Linkage (mechanical)

Perhaps the simplest linkage is the lever, which is a link that pivots around a fulcrum attached to ground, or a fixed point. As a force rotates the lever, points far from the fulcrum have a greater velocity than points near the fulcrum. Because power into the lever equals the power out, a small force applied at a point far from the fulcrum (with greater velocity) equals a larger force applied at a point near the fulcrum (with less velocity). The amount the force is amplified is called mechanical advantage. This is the law of the lever.

Two levers connected by a rod so that a force applied to one is transmitted to the second is known as a four-bar linkage. The levers are called cranks, and the fulcrums are called pivots. The connecting rod is also called the coupler. The fourth bar in this assembly is the ground, or frame, on which the cranks are mounted.

Linkages are important components of machines and tools. Examples range from the four-bar linkage used to amplify force in a bolt cutter or to provide independent suspension in an automobile, to complex linkage systems in robotic arms and walking machines. The internal combustion engine uses a slider-crank four-bar linkage formed from its piston, connecting rod, and crankshaft to transform power from expanding burning gases into rotary power. Relatively simple linkages are often used to perform complicated tasks.


Interesting examples of linkages include the windshield wiper, the bicycle suspension, and hydraulic actuators for heavy equipment. In these examples the components in the linkage move in parallel planes and are called "planar linkages." A linkage with at least one link that moves in three-dimensional space is called a "spatial linkage." The skeletons of robotic systems are examples of spatial linkages. The geometric design of these systems relies on modern computer aided design software.


The 4-bar linkage is an adapted mechanical linkage used on bicycles. With a normal full-suspension bike the back wheel moves in a very tight arc shape. This means that more power is lost when going uphill.[clarification needed] With a bike fitted with a 4-bar linkage, the wheel moves in such a large arc that it is moving almost vertically. This way the power loss is reduced by up to 30%.

A linkage is a collection of links connected by joints. Generally, the links are the structural elements and the joints allow movement. Perhaps the single most useful example is the planar four-bar linkage. However, there are many more special linkages:

Watt's linkage is a four-bar linkage that generates an approximate straight line. It was critical to the operation of his design for the steam engine. This linkage also appears in vehicle suspensions to prevent side-to-side movement of the body relative to the wheels. Also see the article Parallel motion.
The success of Watt's linkage lead to the design of similar approximate straight-line linkages, such as Hoeken's linkage and Chebyshev's linkage.
The Peaucellier linkage generates a true straight-line output from a rotary input.
The Sarrus linkage is a spatial linkage that generates straight-line movement from a rotary input.
The Klann linkage and the Jansen linkage are recent inventions that provide interesting walking movements. They are respectively a six-bar and an eight-bar linkage.

A mechanical linkage is an assembly of bodies connected to manage forces and movement. The movement of a body, or link, is studied using geometry so the link is considered to be rigid. The connections between links are modeled as providing ideal movement, pure rotation or sliding for example, and are called joints. A linkage modeled as a network of rigid links and ideal joints is called a kinematic chain.

Linkages may be constructed from open chains, closed chains, or a combination of open and closed chains. Each link in a chain is connected by a joint to one or more other links. Thus, a kinematic chain can be modeled as a graph in which the links are paths and the joints are vertices, which is called a linkage graph.


The deployable mirror linkage is constructed from a series of rhombus or scissor linkages.

An extended scissor lift
The movement of an ideal joint is generally associated with a subgroup of the group of Euclidean displacements. The number of parameters in the subgroup is called the degrees of freedom of the joint. Mechanical linkages are usually designed to transform a given input force and movement into a desired output force and movement. The ratio of the output force to the input force is known as the mechanical advantage of the linkage, while the ratio of the input speed to the output speed is known as the speed ratio. The speed ratio and mechanical advantage are defined so they yield the same number in an ideal linkage.

A kinematic chain, in which one link is fixed or stationary, is called a mechanism, and a linkage designed to be stationary is called a structure.

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