Static balance can be applied to improve the energy efficiency of mechanisms. In the field of static balancing, there is a lack of knowledge and design methods that are capable of dealing with torsional stiffness. This paper presents a design approach for statically balanced mechanisms, with the focus on mechanisms with torsional stiffness. The approach is graphical in nature and is based on the requirement of constant potential energy. The first achievements of this approach are presented as two conceptual designs of different types of mechanisms. One of them is developed further into a prototype and tested. The prototype has a correlation coefficient of 0.96 and a normalized mean squared error of 0.12 with respect to the mechanical model of the conceptual design.

Issue Section:
Research Papers
Keywords:
elasticity, energy conservation, mean square error methods, mechanical stability, prototypes, torsion, static balancing, torsion stiffness, energy approach
Topics:
Design, Engineering prototypes, Potential energy, Springs, Stiffness, Torsion, Optimization

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Copyright © 2011
 by American Society of Mechanical Engineers
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