STUDY OF MECHANISMS - ME 3280

Mechanical Engineering Laboratory

Aim: To study various basic mechanisms using the kit. To assemble some
mechanisms and study their displacements.

1. Inversions of Slider Crank:

1- Ground
2- Crank
3- Conn. Rod
4- Slider
(Standard configuration)

3
2
4

Various inversions are obtained by holding one link fixed and all others free .

Two popular inversions are Crank and Slotted Lever mechanism and Whitworth
mechanism. They are called quick return mechanisms.

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1.A: CRANK & SLOTTED LEVER QUICK RETURN MECHANISM

Here the long link 3 is fixed.

Ram
O
ground
3
2
Extreme A Extreme B
4
1

4
1
Link-3 is fixed
Link-2 rotates about O
2

A and B represent the two extreme
positions of the slotted lever.

AB is the stroke of the ram (tool). 3

is the forward stroke.

is the return stroke.

<

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1.B WHITWORTH QUICK RETURN MECHANISM

Here the shorter link 2 is fixed. The longer link 3 rotates about O.

P
ground O
3 r
2

A
1

4 1
Link-2 is fixed
Link-3 rotates about O
2

Stroke of the ram = 2AP=2r

The two extreme positions of the slider.
is the cutting stroke and is the return
stroke

A P

First extreme position of the Whitworth mechanism

P A

Second extreme position of the Whitworth mechanism

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 2. GENEVA MECHANISM:

This mechanism is designed to convert continuous rotary input to intermittent

rotary input. The Geneva wheel shown below has 4 slots. It has to be carefully
machined according to the proportions. During one rotation of the driving wheel the
round plug engages one slot in the driven wheel and drags it a quarter rotation. The
driven wheel then pauses in that position until the plug again engages the next slot.
One application of the Geneva wheel is the movie projector where each frame of the
movie is intermittently placed in front of the lens and paused for 1/24th of a second.

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5
 MECHANISMS TO ASSEMBLE

3. TO ASSEMBLE A PANTOGRAPH AND OBSERVE THE SCALING

FACTOR.

A C

D E
O

AB=AD=DC=BC (Parallelogram sides).

In this mechanism OAD and OBE will always be similar triangles.

Hence OA/OB = AD/BE.
OB is set by the user. Parallelogram sides are known.
We have to find BE such that the above equation is satisfied.

The scaling ratio of the parallelogram is OE/OD (also same as BE/AD).

D can be used to trace over a curve and E traces a magnified figure.

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4. TO ASSEMBLE A PEAUCELLIER MECHANISM.

Peaucellier mechanism (invented 1865) is used to convert rotary motion to

linear motion in a given range. It has 8 links (incl. ground). It is used in some
applications such as cameras and robotic mechanisms. The attraction is that it is
not based on rack and pinion or sliding parts (no backlash, wear etc) . It has
only turning pairs. The straight line motion of P can be verified and must be
perpendicular to OA.

Q
Locus of P

B
A
O (crank)

Conditions:

1) QC=PC=PB=QB
2) AC=AB
3) OA=OQ

OQ is the crank. It rotates about O through a limited arc. P moves in a straight line
perpendicular to OA.

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5. TO ASSEMBLE A HARTS MECHANISM.

Harts mechanism (invented 1874) is used to convert rotary motion to linear

motion. It has only turning pairs. It has only 6 links (incl. ground) compared to
Peaucellier mechanism. However it needs larger links and takes up more space.
The straight line motion of Q can be verified and must be perpendicular to OE.
Pa
th
tra
ce
d

C A
by
Q

Q P
E (pivoted to the ground)
crank

D B

Conditions: (line EPQ will be always parallel AC and BD)

1) It is basically a crossed paralellogram. So CD=AB and AD=BC
2) OP is the crank. Link AB is pivoted to the ground at E.
3) OP=OE and also the straight line PE must be parallel to AC. Thus E can be located.
4) Mark a point Q on CB by extending PE. This is the tracing point. The path traced by Q
will be a straight line perpendicular to OE. This can be verified.
5) Note that the links must be on different levels (planes) to avoid interference.