Kinematics Fundamentals

Kinematics is the study of motion, without considering the forces which produce that motion. Kinematics of machines deals with the study of the relative motion of machine parts. It involves the study of position, displacement, velocity and acceleration of machine parts. Dynamics of machines involves the study of forces acting on the machine parts and the motions resulting from these forces.

Definitions
Mechanisms A device which transform motion to some desirable pattern and typically develop very low forces and transmits little power Machine Typically contains mechanism which are design to provide significant forces and transmit significant power

 Rigid Body A body is said to be rigid if under the action of forces,it does not suffer any distortion or the distance between any two points on it remains constant. Resistant Body These are the bodies which are rigid for the purposes they have to serve.Under certain loading conditions they act as rigid bodies. Ex a belt in belt-drive acts as resistant body.

Degree of Freedom (DOF) The systems DOF equal to the number of independent parameters(measurement) which are needed to uniquely define its position in space at any time

Links, Joints, and Kinematic Chains A link is an rigid body which possesses at least two nodes which are points for attachment to other links

 A joints (kinematic pairs) is a connection between two or more links, which allows some motion, or potential motion, between the connected links Classification Type of contact between the elements, line, point,or surface Number of DOF allowed at the joint Type of physical closure of the joint Number of links joined

 Type of Contact Lower pair (full joints) Describe joints with surface contact

 Higher pair Describe joints with point or line contact

Number of DOF allowed Joint One DOF (full joint)

 Two DOF (half joint/roll-slide)

 Type of Physical Closure Form closed- closed by its geometry Force closed- closed by an external force

Number of links joined Order of the joint: the number of links minus one

 Kinematic Chain An assemblage of links and joints, interconnected in a way to provide a controlled output motion in response to a supplied input motion Mechanism A kinematic chain in which at least one link has been grounded, or attached, to the frame of reference Machine A combination of resistant bodies arranged to compel the mechanical forces of nature to do work accompanied by determinate motions

 Ground Any link or links that are fixed with respect to the reference frame Crank A link which makes a complete revolution and is pivoted to ground

 Rocker A link which has oscillatory (back and forth) rotation and pivoted to ground

Coupler A link which has complex motion and is pivoted to ground

 Determining DOF or Mobility - The number of inputs which need to be provided in order to create a predictable output - The number of independent coordinates required to define its position DOF in Planar Mechanisms Grueblers Equation
where M = degree of freedom or mobility L = number of links J = number of joints G = number of grounded links