Mechanical Design Scheme Research Articles

Five-analyzer Johann spectrometer for hard X-ray photon-in/photon-out spectroscopy at the Inner Shell Spectroscopy beamline at NSLS-II: design, alignment and data acquisition.

Here, a recently commissioned five-analyzer Johann spectrometer at the Inner Shell Spectroscopy beamline (8-ID) at the National Synchrotron Light Source II (NSLS-II) is presented. Designed for hard X-ray photon-in/photon-out spectroscopy, the spectrometer achieves a resolution in the 0.5-2 eV range, depending on the element and/or emission line, providing detailed insights into the local electronic and geometric structure of materials. It serves a diverse user community, including fields such as physical, chemical, biological, environmental and materials sciences. This article details the mechanical design, alignment procedures and data-acquisition scheme of the spectrometer, with a particular focus on the continuous asynchronous data-acquisition approach that significantly enhances experimental efficiency.

Innovative Design to Control Spartina Alterniflora

In order to effectively curb the rapid growth trend in Spartina alterniflora in coastal cities of China, this study proposes an innovative mechanical equipment design scheme for eradicating Spartina alterniflora. Based on literature analysis and field research, the AHP (analytic hierarchy process) model is constructed to quantify and prioritize the diverse needs of users for control equipment. Subsequently, the House of Quality (HOQ) in QFD (Quality Function Deployment) is used to analyze the key components and structure of the equipment to ensure its performance and feasibility in practical applications. Finally, combined with the Theory of Inventive Problem Solving (TRIZ), the potential problems encountered in the structural design of the equipment are analyzed, and the corresponding creative principles are applied to solve the contradictions and complete the optimal scheme design. This study, via the acquisition of user needs and further analysis of the machinery’s structure, proposes a scheme that can address many problems related to Spartina alterniflora in China and provide new technical ideas for the field of wetland environmental protection.

Design and Research on the Mechanical Structure of a Heavy-Duty Hexapod Robot with Bouncing Characteristics

Based on the lunar exploration project, a mechanical structure design scheme for a heavy-duty hexapod robot movement system with bounce characteristics was proposed. The materials used were determined by the robot's working environment and performance standards. The mechanical structure of a jumping heavy-duty hexapod robot was designed using SolidWorks 3D modeling software. Based on the analysis of the working modes of the root joint, hip joint, knee joint, and jumping energy storage mechanism, the main components of each joint and jumping energy storage mechanism were designed, and a single leg mechanism was obtained. Based on the special soil structure on the lunar surface, the foot end buffer mechanism was designed, and finite element stress analysis was conducted on the key components of the robot model, proving the rationality of the mechanical structure of a heavy-duty hexapod robot with bounce characteristics.

Tunable Ultralow-Frequency Bandgaps Based on Locally Resonant Plate with Quasi-Zero-Stiffness Resonators

In order to suppress the transverse vibration of a plate, a quasi-zero-stiffness (QZS) resonator with tunable ultralow frequency bandgaps was introduced and analyzed. The resonator was designed by introducing the quasi-zero-stiffness systems into mass-in-mass resonators. The plane wave expansion method was employed to derive the bandgap characteristics of the locally resonant (LR) plate with QZS resonators, and corresponding simulations were carried out by finite element method (FEM). The results show that an LR plate with a QZS resonator can provide two bandgaps, and the ranges of the bandgaps agree well with the vibration attenuation bands calculated by FEM. Owing to the introduction of the QZS system, the bandgaps can be easily transferred to a lower frequency or even an ultralow frequency. The damping of the QZS resonators can effectively broaden the vibration attenuation bands. In addition, the differentiated design of the bandgap frequencies can be realized to obtain broadband low-frequency transverse wave suppression performance. Finally, a mechanical structure design scheme was proposed in order to achieve flexible adjustment of the bandgap frequency, which significantly increases the engineering applicability of QZS resonators.

Research on Innovative Mechanical Structure Design in Carbon Fiber Ingot Winding Technology

Abstract Carbon fiber ingot winding, the final step in the production of carbon fiber, is a crucial process that directly influences the quality of the final product, ensuring the quality of carbon fiber and facilitating smooth processing in the subsequent process. This paper describes the principle of carbon fiber ingot winding, summarises the difficulties of winding carbon fiber ingots, and designs a winding machine that can wind different specifications of carbon fiber ingots. It figures out the folding curve and spiral rise angle in the winding movement of carbon fiber spindles using theoretical knowledge of physical kinematics. It then builds an experimental test platform, prepares the experimental samples, and, based on the needs of the experiment, analyses the process of carbon fiber spindle winding technology. The results demonstrate that the error value between the measurement on the experimental platform and the actual manual measurement remains within 0.01 g, the carbon fiber spindle becomes compact at a tension setting scale value of 5, and the winding end surface remains flat. Furthermore, we find that a larger spiral angle, ranging from 51.7° to 208.5°, enhances the winding’s overlapping effect. The innovative mechanical structure design scheme proposed in this paper has been proven to be effective in process simulation.

Applied Exoskeleton Technology: A Comprehensive Review of Physical and Cognitive Human–Robot Interaction

Exoskeletons and orthoses are wearable mobile systems providing mechanical benefits to users. Despite significant improvements in the last decades, the technology is not fully mature to be adopted for strenuous and non-programmed tasks. To accommodate this insufficiency, different aspects of this technology need to be analysed and improved. Numerous studies have tried to address some aspects of exoskeletons, e.g. mechanism design, intent prediction, and control scheme. However, most works have focused on a specific element of design or application without providing a comprehensive review framework. This study aims to analyse and survey the contributing aspects to this technology’s improvement and broad adoption. To address this, after introducing assistive devices and exoskeletons, the main design criteria will be investigated from both physical Human-Robot Interaction (HRI) perspectives. In order to establish an intelligent HRI strategy and enable intuitive control for users, cognitive HRI will be investigated after a brief introduction to various approaches to their control strategies. The study will be further developed by outlining several examples of known assistive devices in different categories. And some guidelines for exoskeleton selection and possible mitigation of current limitations will be discussed.

Design, modeling and kinematic analysis of a multi-configuration dexterous hand with integrated high-dimensional sensors

PurposeThis study aims to introduce a multi-configuration, three-finger dexterous hand with integrated high-dimensional sensors and provides an analysis of its design, modeling and kinematics.Design/methodology/approachA mechanical design scheme of the three-finger dexterous hand with a reconfigurable palm is proposed based on the existing research on dexterous hands. The reconfigurable palm design enables the dexterous hand to achieve four grasping modes to adapt to multiple grasping tasks. To further enhance perception, two six-axis force and torque sensors are integrated into each finger. The forward and inverse kinematics equations of the dexterous hand are derived using the D-H method for kinematics modeling, thus providing a theoretical model for index analysis. The performance is evaluated using three widely applied indicators: workspace, interactivity of fingers and manipulability.FindingsThe results of kinematics analysis show that the proposed hand has excellent dexterity. Additionally, three different experiments are conducted based on the proposed hand. The performance of the dexterous hand is also verified by fingertip force, motion accuracy test, grasping and in-hand manipulation experiments based on Feix taxonomy. The results show that the dexterous hand has good grasping ability, reproducing 82% of the natural movement of the human hand in daily grasping activities and achieving in-hand manipulations such as translation and rotation.Originality/valueA novel three-finger dexterous hand with multi-configuration and integrated high-dimensional sensors is proposed. It performs better than the previously designed dexterous hand in actual experiments and kinematic performance analysis.

Path Planning and Navigation of Miniature Serpentine Robot for Bronchoscopy Application.

The miniature serpentine robot can be applied to NOTES (Natural Orifice Transluminal Endoscopic Surgery). In this paper, a bronchoscopy application is addressed. This paper describes the basic mechanical design and control scheme of this miniature serpentine robotic bronchoscopy. In addition, off-line backward path planning and real-time and in situ forward navigation in this miniature serpentine robot are discussed. The proposed backward-path-planning algorithm utilizes the 3D model of a bronchial tree constructed from the synthetization of medical images such as images from CT (Computed Tomography), MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), or X-ray, to define a series of nodes/events backward from the destination, for example, the lesion, to the original starting point, for example, the oral cavity. Accordingly, forward navigation is designed to make sure this series of nodes/events shall be passed/occur from the origin to the destination. This combination of backward-path planning and forward navigation does not require accurate positioning information of the tip of the miniature serpentine robot, which is where the CMOS bronchoscope is located. Collaboratively, a virtual force is introduced to maintain the tip of the miniature serpentine robot at the center of the bronchi. Results show that this method of path planning and navigation of the miniature serpentine robot for bronchoscopy applications works.

Mechanical design and position-tracking control of a novel robotic joint with a circular rotary electro-hydraulic actuator

Robotic exoskeletons with different actuators have been extensively investigated for decades, but designing a robot joint with compact structure, sufficient output torque, and satisfactory kinematic performance still remains a challenge. The paper introduces the mechanical design and control scheme of a novel joint with a circular rotary electro-hydraulic actuator in order to provide walking assistance for the hip joint. First, measurement and analysis techniques are applied in the gait recognition to determine an accurate swing range of the target joint and provide essential information for the structure design of the hydraulic rotary drive joint. Secondly, the functional structure and working principle of the hydraulic rotary joint are described in detail and the corresponding mathematical model is established for the valve-controlled hydraulic servo system. In addition, an adaptive sliding mode control (ASMC) method is proposed for position-tracking and improving the anti-disturbance ability of the controlled system. The global asymptotic stability and finite-time convergence of the closed-loop system are proved by Lyapunov stability theory. Finally, the feasibility and position-tracking performance of the designed ASMC controller were experimentally verified. Compared to the PID controller and the conventional sliding mode control scheme, the proposed controller improved the position-tracking control accuracy by 20%.

What mechanism design helps to realize the innovation function of maker-spaces: A qualitative comparative analysis based on fuzzy sets.

Most of the existing studies on maker-space focus on internal subjects (such as makers) or external factors (such as policy support, ecological environment, and more). There has been relatively little discussion on the design of a series of mechanisms of maker-space. This paper theorizes the operating mechanism for platform services, resource gathering, network connections and endogenous cultural protection for the maker-space. It uses the method of fuzzy set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to analyze data from 63 maker-spaces in Zhejiang Province. The study proposes a reasonable mechanism design scheme for maker-space. The results show that the innovativeness of a maker-space is the result of the synergistic effect of various operating mechanisms. Among them, the platform service function, the channel for gathering resources, the formal linkages, and the culture for sharing achievements are indispensable support mechanisms for maker-spaces. Two effective ways to promote innovation in maker-space are outlined: first, preventing interventions from external resource providers; second, building an inclusive culture of trial and error.

The Structure Research and Design for Beam Steering and Adjustment in Golay3 Sparse-Aperture Imaging System

In order to further explore the technical difficulties involved in orienting the sparse-aperture imaging system towards practical applications, this paper proposes an optical–mechanical structure design scheme and performance simulation, as well as actual alignment on the beam steering and adjustment structure, which is the core component of the Golay3 sparse-aperture imaging system. The beam steering and adjustment structure corrects the cophasing error by using a combination of mechanical rough adjustment and piezoelectric ceramic precision adjustment. The beam adjustment capability of the beam steering and adjustment structure is analyzed by simulation when the system contains the piston error and the tilt error. The piston error is controlled within 12 μm and the tilt error is controlled within 1200 μrad through the mechanical rough adjustment light path using a large-diameter collimation as the point light source, which realizes the confocality of three beams and mutual interference between two beams. With the USAF1951 resolution test panel display in the distance as the surface target, the adjustable piezoelectric ceramics control the piston error within 55 nm and the tilt error within 0.25 μrad, obtaining the surface target imaging result of the sparse aperture.

Development of a cross-scale 6-DOF piezoelectric stage and its application in assisted puncture

Micro-nano manipulation technology has been widely applied in ultra-precision fields such as micro-nano manufacturing and biomedical engineering. Multi-DOF ultra-precision stage is one of its key components. This study proposes a 6-DOF piezoelectric stage (6-DOF-PS) to solve the problem that few existing 6-DOF stages can take the characteristics of large range, high resolution and low coupling into account together. The optimal mechanism design scheme of the proposed stage was chosen by comprehensively considering three critical factors of the workspace, the parameter sensitivity of connecting rods and inertia load moment. The structure design and working principle of the 6-DOF-PS were introduced. A prototype of the 6-DOF-PS was fabricated and a series of experiments were performed. The experiment results showed that it achieved 6-DOF motion with the large range of 5 mm × 5 mm × 5 mm × 68° × 68° × 360° and the high resolution of 22.6 nm × 18.9 nm × 12.4 nm × 0.12 µrad × 0.13 µrad × 0.40 µrad, and the maximum coupling error was 5.03% in the 6-DOF motion. Therefore, 6-DOF motion with large range, high resolution and low coupling was achieved through this stage. Furthermore, it also had a good load carrying capacity. Finally, its application experiments in assisted puncture were carried out, the position and posture of the vascular models were adjusted by the 6-DOF motion, and the puncture operation was completed successfully with the assistance of the proposed 6-DOF-PS.

Mechanical Structure Design and Actuation Characteristics Analysis of the Parallel Driven Variable Stiffness Actuator With Unrestricted Rotation Range of the Output Shaft

Among many types of flexible robot actuators, the variable stiffness actuator (VSA) is an actuator that can adjust the compliance of the actuator output shaft by adjusting the equivalent stiffness of its internal elastic element. Compared with the traditional rigid actuators, the VSAs have inherent flexibility and adjustable stiffness because they contain elastic elements and stiffness adjusting mechanisms. They have advantages in human-robot physical interaction security and task adaptability. The independent controllability of position and stiffness and the ability of stiffness adjustment make the VSAs have research value and application prospects in the fields of rehabilitation training equipment, prosthetics, wearable devices and so on. The mechanical scheme design of the VSA is an open research field. At present, there is no perfect mechanical structure design of any type of VSA. Optimizing and improving the mechanical structure design of the VSA is helpful to improve its actuation characteristics and application value. Due to the limitation of the mechanical structure design, most of the existing VSAs have limited rotation angle range of the output shaft, which limits their application. The purpose of this paper is to design the parallel driven VSA whose rotation angle range of output shaft is not limited. Moreover, inspired by the mechanical structure design ideas of some stiffness adjustment mechanisms with good implementation schemes and elastic elements with good force transmission characteristics, this paper makes some improvement, synthesis and innovation in the mechanical structure design of the VSA, so as to improve the structural compactness design, assembly modular design, mechanical transmission reliability design and actuation characteristics. In this paper, six types of parallel driven VSAs with different mechanical structure design schemes are proposed. Their common point is that the rotation angle range of the output shaft is not limited, and the differences are that they have different implementation schemes of variable stiffness mechanisms and elastic elements. The transmission structure diagrams of the designed VSAs show the working principle and stiffness adjustment principle. The actuation characteristics of the designed VSAs are analyzed and their differences are compared. The detailed mechanical structure design of the VSA is shown. In the designed VSAs, the model of the VSA based on the symmetrical Archimedes spiral cam groove mechanism is printed and assembled to show the feasibility of the implementation of the designed mechanical structure scheme. Finally, a manual adjustment experiment verifies the stiffness adjustment ability of the assembled VSA model, and shows that the rotation angle range of the output shaft of the assembled VSA model is unlimited.

Physical Application of Mechanical Parts and Components Simulate in Receivable Auxiliary Multifunction Mechanical Hand and Claw

Based on the analysis of current office work status and office robots, this paper proposes a design scheme of intelligent mechanical gripper which can transfer data and move objects independently to assist daily office work. It is proposed to design mechanical structure, including mechanism motion design and part structure design, and to use Autodesk Inventor to design and simulate mechanical parts and components. Dimensional and strength checks are carried out on key components, and stress analysis is simulated by using stress analysis module included in Autodesk Inventor. Finally, the mechanical structure design scheme and control system design scheme for the mechanical gripper are proposed. The overall design mainly centers on the functions expected to be completed, and innovates different organizations in combination to achieve the intended objective.

Development of a technique for computer simulation of the stress state of the drive drum shell of a belt conveyor to optimize its design parameters

The paper considers the method of computer simulation of the stress-strain state of the drive drum shell in the NASTRAN integrated environment. Due to the complexity of determining stresses and deformations in the drum sections by the analytical method, it is proposed to solve this important problem using the numerical finite-element method. At the preliminary stage of computer modeling, a mechanical design scheme was developed, including a variable pressure that changes depending on the angle of rotation of the drum, the deterministic relations describing the variable force factors are based on the Euler ratio. It is also proposed to take into account the pressure from the variable friction force, which depends on the changing coefficient of adhesion of the belt to the drum. As a result of the computer calculation, the equivalent Mises stresses of 65 MPa were determined, the safety factor was 4.2 and the components of the tangential stresses were determined using the stress tensor marker, the shear stress reached the level τ=16 MPa for fabric tape and τ=3.14 MPa for rubber tape. According to the results of the calculation, the dependence of the tangential stresses on the angle of rotation of the drum was constructed. A diagram of the change in the component of tangential stresses along the forming shell of the drum was constructed. Analysis of stress-strain state allowed us to determine the factor of safety of the drum shell. Based on the analysis of equivalent stresses, it is proposed to further calculate the durability of the drum using the method of long-term fatigue. The computer calculation of shear stresses in the component allows choosing the rational parameters of the lining, based on such indicators as peel strength and break, as well as determining the angle 61° of the slab lining required to improve the reliability and traction ability of the pipeline

Research on Market Mechanism and Scheme Design of Yunnan Demand Response

In order to cope with the changes of participants, working mechanism and business model after the deregulation of power sales side under the new situation, and to improve the current situation of seasonal and periodic power shortage in Yunnan Province, the implementation scheme of Yunnan demand response is sorted out and its characteristics are analysed from the aspects of participation mode, implementation form and response type. Based on the lack of basis for the demand response subsidy price and the imperfect transaction mechanism in Yunnan demand response market mechanism construction, this paper proposes a price mechanism design scheme of charging seasonal peak electricity price for peak shaving demand response, collecting funds according to the grid electricity of power generation enterprises during valley filling period, and dynamically adjusting the price according to the change of supply side cost caused by demand response. Additionally, the trading mechanism of demand side response participating in day ahead market and real-time market is also proposed.

Poverty mitigation via solar panel adoption: Smart contracts and targeted subsidy design

An emerging application of FinTech in the commodities market pivots on a blockchain-enabled Peer-to-Peer energy exchange platform, wherein solar energy feed-in tariffs are self-executed via “smart contracts”. With subsidy design versus mechanism design models, this paper evaluates the instrumental value of smart contracts towards poverty mitigation in developing economies via securing sustainable revenue for rural households. We investigate how the adoption levels of solar panels interact with adoption barriers and household energy behaviors. Smart contracts can be applied for self-executing the green energy financing and subsidy distribution process. For the government-led subsidy design scheme, we propose Cournot quantity competition models that incorporate spatial heterogeneity (energy-poor and energy-rich regions) and uncertainty in energy generation costs. We find that the government’s aggregate subsidy expenditure decreases in solar uncertainty, and it is optimal to select households from a single region only for high uncertainty. Smart contracts facilitate heterogeneity and uncertainty to soften quantity competition, benefitting households in both regions and the government. For the mechanism design scheme, we demonstrate that both regions can be chosen only under the incomplete information case with inaccurate forecasts about market conditions and a relatively low baseline energy price. The self-executing feature of smart contracts helps mitigate the potential risks of renegotiation between multiple parties. Moreover, a public policy supported by mechanism design is more likely to outperform that based on market competition regarding cost-effectiveness only when the latter chooses a single region. Otherwise, quantity competition would be significantly softened by contingency-dependent smart contracts under heterogeneous market conditions.

The design of permanent magnet variable-frequency door-motor with one-driver dual control

Aiming at the scarcity for matched high-end door-motor to domestic high-velocity elevator market, with the research on domestic and overseas elevator door-motor control technology and permanent magnet synchronization technology, a high-end door-motor system that matched with high-velocity elevator and even ultra-high-velocity elevator has been put forward. It introduced in detail about the door-motor control hardware design that used digital chips and intelligent power module as its main circuit, how to realize the door-motor operation curve with SVPWM (Space Vector Pulse Width Modulation), the orientation angle learning method of permanent magnet synchronization motor, how to work in parallel for dual-motor and how to switch the single motor as well as the overall mechanical design scheme. The actual door-motor operation curve has been surveyed through experiment and the operation curve has been analyzed. The research results indicate that the door-motor system can suffice the design requirements input and the design scheme is reasonable and reliable, which will not only significantly shorten the opening and closing time compared to the ordinary door-motor and distinctly improve the service efficiency of high-velocity elevator, but also make the operation curve of the door-motor more graceful, quieter, more stable and safer.

Optical Design of a Miniaturized Airborne Push-Broom Spectrometer

Combining the requirements of spectrometers for unmanned aerial vehicle platforms, a miniaturized airborne wide-angle push-broom imaging spectrometer with an Offner configuration is designed. The system comprises an objective lens and an Offner-type spectrometer with a spectral range of 400~1000 nm and a spectral resolution of 15 nm. The objective lens and Offner spectrometer are designed in isolation before integration. The front objective lens is an inverted telephoto with a focal length of 13 mm, a relative aperture of 1/4.5, and a field of view of 54°. The frequency of the convex grating in the Offner configuration is 102 LP/mm, and the dispersion width is 2.6 mm. The modulation transfer function of the integrated system is greater than 0.4 at the Nyquist frequency in all spectral bands. To estimate the volume and weight of the system, a preliminary optical–mechanical design scheme is given in this paper. The entire spectrometer has a volume of 130 × 80 × 120 mm and is less than 3 kg, which realizes the miniaturization design of the imaging spectrometer with a wide field of view for unmanned aerial vehicle platforms.

Design of an Intelligent Leakage Prevention System for High pressure Injector

In order to solve the problem of liquid leakage due to high injection pressure and fast injection speed in the current medical high pressure injector, a set of intelligent anti-leakage diversion alarm system for high pressure injector was designed by using TI microcontroller MSP430F4619, precision electronic FS2050 pressure sensor and Nordic company’s NRF24L01+ wireless transmission chip. The system can monitor the process of high pressure injection in real time. Once the leakage of drug solution is detected, wireless acousto-optic alarm will be given immediately and diversion switch will be made quickly. This system not only overcomes the disadvantage of the previous mechanical design scheme which is easy to be loosened, but also increases the function of diversion switch which can effectively reduce the pain of patients. The results of animal experiments show that the intelligent diversion alarm system is stable, reliable and highly sensitive, which can effectively reduce the leakage of drug solution in high pressure injector.