Design and Performance Analysis of Lamina Emergent Torsional Joints Based on Double-Laminated Material Structure

Buchuan Ma,Ningning Liu,Yue Yu,Beiying Liu,Guimin Chen,Lifang Qiu

doi:10.3390/app12052642

Abstract

Flexibility and accuracy are two key aspects of the performances of compliant joints. In order to obtain high flexibility while maintain high accuracy, this paper proposes a design method to improve the tensile stiffness of Lamina Emergent Torsional (LET) joint by utilizing double-laminated material structure. The joint is made of a LET joint and a layer of flexible H18 aluminum foil fixing on it (called double-laminated LET, DL-LET). The kinetostatic model for the joint is given, and the equations needed to calculate the equivalent spring constant are derived. The model is verified using finite element analysis (FEA). The results obtained through two different ways coincide with each other very well. The results show that DL-LET and LET joints have similar bending stiffness, while the tensile stiffness of the DL-LET joint is much larger than that of the LET joint. The results are validated by tensile tests. Finally, to further demonstrate the extension of this idea, a DL-Triple-LET joint is presented and compared to the Triple-LET joint.

Highlights

Traditional mechanisms use articulated joints to connect their rigid body elements and to achieve their motion, while compliant mechanisms obtain their motion through the deformation of the compliant joints [1,2]
Lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) are a kind of compliant mechanisms that are manufactured from sheet goods with motion out of the fabrication plane [5]
Finding suitable compliant joints [6] can be a key step in designing LEMs

Summary

Introduction

Traditional mechanisms use articulated joints to connect their rigid body elements and to achieve their motion, while compliant mechanisms obtain their motion through the deformation of the compliant joints [1,2]. Compliant mechanisms have many advantages over traditional mechanisms, such as no backlash or friction, higher precision, and reliability, reduced number of components, and assembly time [3,4]. Lamina emergent mechanisms (LEMs) are a kind of compliant mechanisms that are manufactured from sheet goods with motion out of the fabrication plane [5]. Researchers have designed many joints for LEMs. Finding suitable compliant joints [6] can be a key step in designing LEMs. Jacobsen et al [7]

Methods

Results

Conclusion