Computing complete solution sets for approximate four-bar path synthesis

Abstract

The approximate path synthesis of four-bar linkages has been framed and solved with many different optimization techniques. Here we present a polynomial objective that is invariant to the number of approximate design positions selected, and a solution technique capable of finding all minima. The invariance property caps compute time despite increasing the size of input task specification data. This is performed by collecting a variable amount of task data into an invariable number of polynomial coefficients, called moments, before numerical optimization begins. The minima are found by applying the method of random monodromy loops to the zero gradient polynomial system of the aforementioned objective. This procedure finds all critical points, including the local and global minimum, and provides an in-process estimate of the percentage of critical points found. We applied our methodology to four-bar path synthesis problems of various computational scales by altering dimensional pre-specifications. The most general case was estimated to have 1,820,238 ± 3810 critical points, while pre-specification of one or two ground pivots yielded 26,052 and 503 roots, respectively, as validated by a trace test. The results are applied to a variety of examples.