Optimal synthesis of adjustable mechanisms generating multi-phase approximate paths

An optimal synthesis method is developed for multi-phase continuous path generation of adjustable planar four-bar linkages. The non-adjustable driving dyad is first determined optimally using full rotation requirements. With coupler angles at all design points calculated, the driven dyad is found by another optimization based on the link length structural error. This method uses less design variables and results in compact error functions. A numerical example demonstrates its effectiveness.