Optimizing a Balanced Spring Mechanism

Static balancing may be used to reduce unwanted forces in a mechanism. A bottom-up methodology for designing balanced systems is described. The approach differs from the classical mechanism synthesis methods in that a simple already balanced mechanism is developed into a mechanism of the desired specifications, rather than that an adjustment mechanism is synthesized to match the required transfer function between the energy storage devices. The described methodology uses some idealizations to yield a coherent theoretical framework for designing systems that are perfectly balanced. When real world constraints are to be applied on a system conceived of in this way, numerical approximation may become necessary. This paper describes an approximation method using an ideal design as an initial estimate. Examples are given that illustrate the followed approach.