Analysis and design of symmetric notch flexure hinges

Ning Xu,Xiaoqin Zhou,Ming Dai

doi:10.1177/1687814017734513

Abstract

This article presents the analytic models of four types of flexure hinges (elliptic, circular, parabolic, and hyperbolic flexure hinges). The analytic models are developed based on the theory of el...

Highlights

IntroductionYong et al.[20] presented the comparison of various stiffness equations of circular flexure hinges with the finite element results, and proposed more accurate empirical stiffness equations
When calculating the mechanical properties of flexure hinges, the material properties remain constant as described in section ‘‘Verification of the analytic model,’’ but the minimum thickness t, the height h, the length l, and the depth b vary within a range for practical flexure hinges
The expressions of the stiffness and rotational precision were provided, and the hinge index was proposed to evaluate the performance of flexure hinges

Summary

Introduction

Yong et al.[20] presented the comparison of various stiffness equations of circular flexure hinges with the finite element results, and proposed more accurate empirical stiffness equations. In order to accurately calculate the above parameters, this article develops analytic model for the characteristics of four types of flexure hinges (Figure 1), based on the theory of elasticity and infinitesimal method. The theory of elasticity is used to calculate the stiffness and rotational precision of flexure hinges. We can calculate the free-end axial displacement u, deflection v, and rotation angle a based on the theory of elasticity. The errors may come from the following factors: the meshing error, the manufacturing error, or the material property error This model is used to explore the relationships between the geometric parameters and mechanical properties of the flexure hinges

Findings

Discussion

Conclusion