AN INVESTIGATION OF COMPLIANT MICRO-HALF-PANTOGRAPHS USING THE PSEUDORIGID BODY MODEL1*

Abstract

Many microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) require a mechanism that amplifies motion. This article investigates the use of the pseudorigid body model (PRBM) to design fully compliant micro-half-pantographs for this purpose. The results demonstrate the ability to amplify motion with a compliant mechanism with no assembly or pin joints. The PRBM was used to develop equations for input-output displacement, force-deflection, and maximum nominal stress-deflection predictions. Predictions compared favorably to finite-element and experimental results. This work emphasizes further that the traditional method of trial-and-error design can be substituted by the pseudorigid body model approach. *Communicated by B. Gilmore.