ABSTRACT

The design engineer is often faced with the problem of finding a mechanism for a given purpose or of changing a mechanism to make it more suitable for the purpose. It is his primary objective to find the simplest possible solutions based on the three criteria: space, speed, and savings. An introduction to mechanisms begins with a review of the foundation of kinematics, namely, the concept of joints. A joint connects two links. The five basic joints are: turning joint, sliding joint, rolling joint, roll-slide joint, and screw joint. A sliding joint is an irregular-shaped shaft sliding in a hole with identical cross section. In the literature this joint is designated a sliding joint and is not considered a mechanism. The turning-joint mechanism is, in principle, just a pin on one link and a corresponding hole in the neighboring link. In the literature it is called a turning point, or revolute pair, and is not referred to as a mechanism.