A general approach for generating kinetostatic models for planar flexure-based compliant mechanisms using matrix representation

Abstract

Kinetostatic modeling of a flexure-based compliant mechanism (FCM) is always a complicated and error-prone process because it involves not only the formulation of the geometric compatibility but also the formulation of the load equilibrium of the mechanism. In this paper, we propose a general approach for automatically generating kinetostatic models for FCMs based on their matrix representation. The approach utilizes virtual flexure hinges, link-flexure incidence matrices and path matrices to unify and simplify the formulation of the kinetostatic equations of FCMs. Four case studies are provided to demonstrate the use of the proposed method for modeling various FCMs.