ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the methods for finding the overall configuration of some common linkages at any time. Since performing the calculations by hand will prove to be rather involved and time-consuming, the method should admit easy implementation in software, specifically MATLAB. The goal of the program that the programers write is to plot the position of point B and P as the crank makes a full revolution. Along the way, programers will create a few handy MATLAB functions that they can use in conducting position analysis of more complicated linkages. The most common way to create reusable code in MATLAB is to create a function, which is a separate file that is called by the main program as needed. The chapter presents a method for conducting the position analysis for any one DOF linkage: the Newton–Raphson algorithm, and reviews of some basic vector operations.
