Int. J. Mach. Tools Manufact, Vol. 34, No. 8. pp.

1103-1118, 1994
Copyright © 1994 Elsevier Science Ltd
Pergamon Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved
0890-695519457.00 + .00

0890--6955(93)E0012-T

D E S I G N F O R M A N U F A C T U R I N G T H E E L A S T I C PIVOTS
W I T H S P E C I A L R E F E R E N C E TO M A N U F A C T U R I N G E R R O R
YU-NENG YANG,t WEI-HUA CHIENGt a n d AN-CHEN L E E ~
(Received 24 June 1993; in final form 5 November 1993)

Abstract--The stiffness of an elastic pivot, a kind of torsional hinge, must usually be small in the direction
of axial rotation and high in all other directions. In some applications, such as the gimbal suspension of the
tuned gyroscope in an inertial guidance system, the size of the elastic pivot is small, and consequently the
pivot becomes very sensitive to machining error. In this paper, we model the machining error in terms of
the position error and roll-pitch-yaw angle error of the electrode in the electric discharge machining process.
In the corresponding design problem, we recommend design procedures that allow a compromise between
product performance and manufacturability. This paper introduces different types of elastic pivots, analyzes
machining error due to machining inaccuracy, and treats the shape optimization. We believe that the design-
for-manufacturability methodology developed here will be helpful in the design of many other precision
mechanical components.

NOMENCLATURE
r~ shear force acting on the end of the pivot element
K~x translational stiffness due to the axial force
gxv bending stiffness due to the pure moment
~y translational stiffness due to the shear force
r. torsional stiffness of the pivot element
L length of the pivot element
M~ bending moment acting on the pivot element
Pc compression force acting on the pivot element
e. critical buckling load
Q specified position error of the EDM machine
L torsion on the pivot element
13,8 the coefficients corresponding to the given machining sequence
tolerance of the pitch angle error
0 tolerance of the roll angle error
q5 tolerance of the yaw angle error
01, 1)2 curvature of the surface of the pivot element

INTRODUCTION
T w o DEGREES o f f r e e d o m , t u n e d g y r o s c o p e s a r e f r e q u e n t l y used in inertial g u i d a n c e
systems which r e q u i r e p r e c i s e m e a s u r e m e n t o f relative a n g u l a r d i s p l a c e m e n t . W h e n a
t u n e d g y r o [1] spins at high s p e e d a b o u t its d r i v e n shaft, the d y n a m i c a l l y i n d u c e d
spring rate [ 2 - 7 ] will i n d u c e an effective t o r s i o n a l r e s t r a i n t on the pivots that causes
the g y r o to drift. In o r d e r to e l i m i n a t e the effect of the d y n a m i c a l l y i n d u c e d spring
r a t e , the a d j u s t m e n t s to the t o r s i o n a l stiffness o f the elastic pivots a r e r e q u i r e d .
In c o n v e n t i o n a l m e c h a n i c a l a p p l i c a t i o n s , m a c h i n i n g e r r o r can h a r d l y affect t h e
s t r e n g t h o f the c o m p o n e n t s . H o w e v e r , the r e c e n t t r e n d in a d v a n c e d m e c h a n i c a l designs,
such as the m i c r o - e l e c t r o m e c h a n i c a l systems, is t o w a r d s m a l l e r size. In such designs
the v a r i a t i o n in the s t r e n g t h o f the m e c h a n i c a l c o m p o n e n t s d u e to m a c h i n i n g e r r o r
b e c o m e s i m p o r t a n t . W h e n electric discharge m a c h i n i n g ( E D M ) tools o r wire E D M
tools are u s e d , a v a r i e t y o f C N C m o t i o n e r r o r s [ 8 - 1 0 ] , including A b b e e r r o r , gain
m i s m a t c h i n g e r r o r , a n d o t h e r s , can result in p o s i t i o n e r r o r , roll angle e r r o r , pitch angle
e r r o r a n d y a w angle e r r o r . If m a c h i n i n g e r r o r is not c o n s i d e r e d d u r i n g the design

tDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, National Chiao Tung University, 1001 Ta Hsueh Road, Hsinchu
30049, Taiwan, R.O.C.

1103
1104 Yu-NE~G YANG et al.

phase, small components, such as elastic pivots, cannot meet the tight specifications
usually required in advanced technology.
ELASTIC PIVOT

The structure of an axial-type elastic pivot is shown in Fig. I(A). The pivot consists
of four identical pivot elements in an axial-symmetric arrangement• The four pivot
elements are connected by two separated bodies, which allows relative rotation with
a limited rotation angle (usually 0.3-0.5°). In order to decrease the torsional stiffness,
the pivot elements tend to have a smaller thickness, as shown in Fig. I(B). However,
in practical applications, the pivots must be strong enough to resist unwanted motion
in the bending and compression directions, as shown in Figs I(C) and (D), respectively.
The structure of a radial-type elastic pivot is shown in Fig. 2(A). The pivot consists
of two identical pivot elements, one in the front and the other on the back, connected
by two separated bodies, one on the top and the other on the bottom. Like the axial-
type elastic pivot, the pivot elements tend to have a smaller thickness in order to
decrease the torsional stiffness, as shown in Figs 2(B). However, in practical appli-
cations, the pivots must be strong enough to resist unwanted motion in the bending
and compression directions, as shown in Figs 2(C) and (D), respectively.
A front view of the radial-type elastic pivot is shown in Fig. 3, in which a moment
Me is applied at the free end of the pivot element. The slope ~b and deflection ~ of
the pivot element at the free end can be obtained as follows:

MtL Mt L2
d~ - E1 and ~ - 2El " (1)

Therefore, the instantaneous center of rotation can be obtained by the relation

• pivot element

pivot element rotation

axis

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

FIG. 1. The axial-type elastic pivot: (A) Structure. (B) Pure rotation due to the axial-twist. (C) Translation
due to the element bending. (D) Translation due to the element buckling.
 Design for Manufacturing Elastic Pivots 1105

p i v o ~
element ~ V ~pivot
c-.._ y -.// element
ro.,a io.
~ XlS

(A) (B)

(C) (D)

FIG. 2. The radial-type elastic pivot: (A) Structure. (B) Pure rotation due to pivot element bending of the
first mode. (C) Pure translation due to pivot element bending of the second mode. (D) Translation due to
the buckling effect of the pivot elements.

FIG. 3. Front view of the radial-type elastic pivot.

~/'b = L / 2 , as shown in Fig. 3. As a result, the instantaneous axis of rotation coincides

with the torsional axis of the pivot.

DESIGN OF THE PIVOT ELEMENT

As illustrated in Fig. 4, the parameterized shape of a pivot element may be expressed
as follows:

b ( x ) = H + 2pl(X - L/2) 2

c ( x ) = W + p2(x - L/2) 2 , (2)

where the corresponding surface is

1106 YU-NENGYANGet al.

z ~-~'0

"~ / ~o(x) N/Fe, 1

F16. 4. Configurationof the pivot element.

convex while p~ < 0

flat while p~ = 0 .
concave while p~ > 0

The design constraints of the pivot element under the conditions of axial torsion T~,
bending moment Me, shear force F¢ and compression (tensile) force Pe, as indicated
in Fig. 4, are derived in the following subsections.

Torsional stiffness: Kyz

It is assumed here that the pivot element of the design problem under investigation
satisfies the fundamental assumptions stated in Ref. [11]. In order to approach the
solution for a thin plate given in Refs [12, 13], the torsional stiffness may be expressed
as follows:

1 L 1 Tc(1 v) fL
0Ix_L= i ci , j(x) a ~ - e , ~a~,

where

1
J(x) -- 6 b(x) c3(x)

this equation yields the following equivalent torsional stiffness:

Tc = KvzOIx=L ,

where Ky: is the torsional stiffness along the x axis,

Ky~ - 6 ( l + v ) , b(x) c3(x) dx . (3)

Bending stiffness due to the bending moment: Kzx, Kxy

Assume that the fundamental theory on the moment curvature relation [11] holds
for the pivot element. The fundamental solution of the equivalent bending stiffness,
subject to the bending moment Me, for the cantilever beam with length L may be
derived in the following form:
 Design for Manufacturing Elastic Pivots 1107

M~= Kzxcb,

where

1 -1
gzx = ~ b(x) c ( x ) 3 d r " (4.a)

Similarly, the bending stiffness of Kxy associated with angle q~ can be expressed in
the following form:

Kxy = ~ b(x) 3 c(x) dr . (4.b)

Bending stiffness due to the shear force: Kyy

The fundamental solution for maximum deflection -q(L) of the cantilever beam, with
length L, subject to the force F applied on the free end, may be solved based on the
energy method [13] as follows:

= ryy,,

where

Kyy= {~- fom x2 + pc(x)[b¢x)/2 ((b(x)/2)2_ y2/2 -1

Axial stiffness: Kxx

The principle of conservation of energy may be used to find the displacment ~(L)
of elastic members due to applied force P~, which yields the following equivalent
stiffness:

Pe = Kxx~,

where

~1 (z. 1
Kx,, = [EJo b(x)c(x) dr}-1 . (6)

Critical buckling load

To avoid buckling, the compression force Pe must be smaller than the critical buckling
load [13]. The critical buckling load Per can be stated as follows:

(qr2 b(x) C(X) 3 E)

Pcr = min \ ~L5 ; where 0 -< x -< L . (7)

MANUFACTURING INACCURACIES

Let us now examine the case where the EDM machining process is applied to
fabricate elastic pivots. It is assumed that the electrode is made of high melting
temperature material, for example, the high density carbon, hence the wear of the
electrode is ignored. The remaining key factor affecting the manufacturing inaccuracy
is the motion error of the EDM machine tool. The motion error of the EDM electrode
includes position error, roll angle error, pitch angle error and yaw angle error. The
typical alternative machining process as the wire EDM suffers from the same basic
types of machining inaccuracy as the EDM.

HTH 34:8-E
1108 Yu-N~No YANGet al.

Position error
As shown in Fig. 5, assume the probability density function for the center location
of the E D M electrode, fc(r, ~), is uniform throughout the range, as follows:

fc(r, a ) = kl for 0 -< r -< Q, 0 -< ct < 2"rr

= 0 otherwise, (8)

where the value of Q denotes the specified position tolerance of the E D M machine.
In order to evaluate k], the following constraint is applied:

/°o ffo~fc(r, a) rdrdot = 1 (9)

and it is shown that

1
fc('Y, or) = kl - 7r Q2" (10)

The random variable el, which affects both the height b(x) and thickness c(x) of the
torsional element, is given by:

~1 : r sina,

which yields

E(e~) =
EFo rsinotf¢(%a)rdrda
71"Q2 r 2 sinet dr da = O, (11)

y'
J
Z' /fy
offset of IZ , ~K,,,,
location - , . l

pivot

ZZ , -~l~eleltrod~e~X ' element

Z X
i

" ""~ X X-Y-Z coordinate system for the workpiece

X'-Y'-Z' coordinate system for the electrode
lerance
i circle

FIG. 5. Position error of the EDM electrode.

 Design for Manufacturing Elastic Pivots 1109

and

V(e,)=fQffo~r2sinafc(%a)rdrdct

_ Q2 ~ Q2
- ~ Jo sin2a da = ~ - . (12)

Pitch angle error

As shown in Fig. 6, assume the probability density function for the pitch angle of
the EDM electrode, fy(~J), is uniform throughout the range, as follows:

1
fy(@) = ~ for - • -< 0 -<

=0 otherwise. (13)

The random variable e2, which affects both the height b(x) and thickness c(x) of the
torsional element is given by

C 2 ---- Oy,

which yields the following result:

Y I-" (14)
E (e2) = ~ * 0dO = 0

and

V (c2) = ~y2 t~2 d0 = 3 - y2. (15)

Z
Y,
f

X , X ' pitch . ~ f "

5 a ~ ~

~ X,X'

X-Y-Z coordinatesystemfor the workpiece

Z X'-Y'-Z' coordinatesystemfor the electrode

Yo~,? "Y
Fro. 6. Pitch angle error o f the electrode.
1110 Yu-NENG YANG et al.

Roll angle error

As shown in Fig. 7, assume the probability density function for the toll angle of the
EDM electrode, fz(q~), is uniform throughout the range, as indicated below:

1
f,(~) = O for - 0 -< q~ - ® (16)

= 0 otherwise,

where O denotes the specified tolerance of the roll angle error. In order to evaluate
k3, the following unity constraint is applied. The random variable e3, which affects
both the height b(x) and thickness c(x) of the torsional element is given by

Therefore, the m e a n E(133) and the variance V(e3) of the random variable I~3 can be
derived as follows:

E(e3)=~ o ~p x - dq~=0 (17)

and

V(c3) = ~ o q~ x - dq~- (18)

Z Z

X' I ,~y

o,,an le'

~.~'~ Y ~-. element

electrode X
Z ×'

'0 2 . . . . . . . . .

X-Y-Z coordinate system for the workpiece

~-----U2 = i X'-Y'-Z' coordinate system for the electrode

Fro. 7. Roll angle error of the electrode.

 Design for ManufacturingElastic Pivots 1111

Y a w angle error
In Fig. 8, the effect of the yaw angle error of the EDM electrode is replaced by the
probability density function for f(×), which is uniform through the range, as follows:

f(x) = k4 for 0 <- × <- c ( x ) - c ( x + H ~ )

=0 otherwise, (19)

where • indicates the maximum allowable tolerance of yaw angle error. Since

ff(:,)-c(x+H~,)f(×) d× 1 (20)

it is found that

1
f(x) = k, = (21)
c(x) - c(x + H~) "

Let the random variable

~4=Z . (22)

The mean and variance can then be obtained as follows:

c(x)-c<x+Ha,) 1
E (c4) = z c(x) - c(x + H~) dz = 0 (23)
Jc( x + HCP) - c ( x )

and

Z, Z "

Y
:ow /
X, X" • pivot
~ . . ~ ~ ePi~nt

Y'yaw angle " ~ "~.. //'~

" ~- e]ectrodei "~ -. H/

~ X , X"

l incorrectcontour

- - X

~ X-Y-Z coordinatesystemfor the workpiece

[ I \ c(x+Hq~) X'-Y'-Z" coordinatesystemfor the electrode
He , l

FIG. 8. Y a w angle error of the electrode.

1112 Yu-N~NG YANG et al.

c(x)--c(x +H'Yo) 1 dz
V (e4) = z2
~+.¢)_~:. c(x)- c(x + HoP)

=
2 {c(x) - c(x + HOD)) 2
(24)
3

On the other hand, when the electrode is moving on the x z surface of the pivot
element, the function c ( x ) is replaced by b ( x ) and H is replaced by W, and the variance
is as follows:

V(e4) = 2{b(x) - b ( x + W ~ ) } 2
3 (25)

MECHANICAL ERROR

On the basis of the above analysis, the height and thickness of the pivot element
can be expressed in terms of all the random variables as follows:

4
6 = [~(x,y) = b ( x ) + ~ (3i ~'i
i=1
4
~- C(X,Z) = C(X) + Z ~i ~'i , (26)
i=1

where the weights 13i and ~i, i= 1 - 4 , are factors that depend on the machining sequence.
For the axial-type elastic pivot, the torsional stiffness is approximately four times Kyz,
which, according to equation (3), may be approximated by the following expression:

6E
Kyz = -l -+ v K, (27)

where

K = 6 ( x , y ) C3(x,z) dy dz dx . (28)
kJO t . J - H / 2 J--W~2

When only the position error is concerned, it can be verified that the sensitivity of the
error due to the position error I~1 is

O~elc,=o = -2K2 {I: f3'/b(x) + 3~Jc(x)dx } .

b ( x ) c3(x)

For the case where Pl = P2 = 0 in equation (2), equation (28) yields

(29)

When the upper surface and lower surface of the pivot element are machined indepen-
dently, it is found that 13i = 8i = 2 for i = 1, 2, 3, 4. Then the variance of the torsional
stiffness due to the position error is:

\Oel] V(el)= + K ~" H W " (30)

 Design for ManufacturingElastic Pivots 1113

Substituting equation (30) into equation (27) yields

V(Kyz) 24Q2 (31)

- HW K2z"

Similar procedures can be applied to the radial-type elastic pivot, for which the torsional
stiffness is approximately 2Kzx, where

V(Kzx) 24 0 2
- H W Kz2" (32)

If all the machining inaccuracies are combined, the mean value [14, 15] is

E{/(} = K(/~, e)lei = E(ei), i=1,2,3,4 (33)

and the variance is

OK(b, e) 2
V{K} i=l ~i = E(ei) • (34)

However, the torsional (or bending) stiffness of the pivot element, as shown in equations
(28), (32) and (33), is difficult to obtain analytically. Alternatively, it can be evaluated
based on discretization of the pivot element, the numerical integration of equation
(28), and numerical differentiation of equations (32) and (33). The result of such an
evaluation is described below.
APPROXIMATE SOLUTIONS VS FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS RESULTS
Figure 9(A) shows the configuration of a kind of tuned gyroscope, which consists
of three bodies, i.e. the rotor, gimbal, and shaft. The relative motion between the

B
I

[ ] : shaft • : axial typeelasticpivot

[ ] : gimbal • : rotor
(A)

Curvaturep =0.42 .~g95

FIG. 9. The tuned gyroscope based on the axial-type elastic pivot.

1114 Yu-NEr~G YAN6 et al.

rotor and the gimbal is through the axial-type elastic pivots, i.e. pivots E1 and E3 on
the A-axis. The relative motion between the gimbal and the shaft is through another
pivot axis, i.e. pivots E2 and E4 on the B-axis. The torsional stiffness of the axial-
type elastic pivot must satisfy the tuned condition [2], i.e. K = N 2 J, where K denotes
the torsional stiffness of the elastic pivot, N denotes the rotating speed of the shaft
relative to the case, and J denotes the gimbal inertia with respect to the C-axis. In
addition, the bending stiffness must be large enough to isolate the error motion [7].
The practical parameters for a tuned gyroscope being N = 2100 rad/s (20,000 rpm),
J = 2 . 1 E - 7 k g - m 2, and G = 84E9 N/m 2 (for steel), it is found that K = 92 N-mm/
rad.
Figure 9(B) shows the design specification of an elastic pivot. Let us now compare
the results for this pivot obtained from the FEM analysis and the approximate solution.
Based on the FEM analysis given in Ref. [16], the torsional stiffness of the elastic
pivot shown in Fig. 9(B) is 96.6 N-mm/rad, and the bending stiffness Kyy of the elastic
pivot is 204.35 N/mm. Based on equation (3), the approximate solution is that the
torsional stiffness from the four effective pivot elements for each elastic pivot is
118.4 N-mm/rad, and the bending stiffness Kyy is 224.9 N/mm. The error between the
approximate solution and the FEM result is acceptable for preliminary design as
described in the following sequels.
MECHANICAL ERROR ANALYSIS

Assume the following conditions:

1. The parameterized dimensions of the pivot element for the axial- and radial-type
are illustrated by Figs 10(A) and l l ( A ) , respectively.
2. The position, roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle error, (denoted by Q, O, ~ ,
and ~ ) of the CNC machine are given as Q = l l x m and ® = tO = • = 0.05 ° ,
respectively.
3. This manufacturing process is independent, i.e., 13i = 8i = 2, i = 1-4.
The sensitivity analysis for the torsional/bending stiffness with respect to the curvature
p~ of the pivot element shape for different types of pivots is given in Figs 10(B)
and l l ( B ) . The result shows that both the torsional and bending stiffness decrease
monotonically with the increasing absolute value of curvature ]011. The total torsional/
bending stiffness error due to the individual manufacturing error caused by the CNC
motion, in terms of the 3~r band of confidence level (with a probability of 0.9973) is
obtained and given in Figs 10(C) and l l ( C ) for the axial- and radial-type elastic pivot,
respectively.
Figure 10(C) shows that the torsional stiffness error of the axial-type elastic pivot
is more sensitive to the yaw angle error for a large value of curvature IP~I. The torsional
stiffness error due to other types of motion error, i.e. pitch angle, roll angle, and
position error, decreases with a larger value of curvature ]Pl]. As a result, subject to
the 1 I~m position error and 0.05 ° angular error, the total stiffness error, which is the
sum of the error caused by all error sources, is about 23% at p~ = 0 and 26% at
p~ = -0.5. For an EDM machine with twice the indicated machining inaccuracies, the
percentage of total stiffness error is doubled.
SHAPE OPTIMIZATION

In this section, a tuned gyroscope design based on the radial-type elastic pivot is
discussed. As shown in Fig. 12, the tuned gyroscope also has four elastic pivots, two
on the A-axis and two on the B-axis. The design objective function is chosen to be
the minimization of variance of the bending stiffness Kzx, i.e.

min V(K~.)
subject to

Bounds: u~t) -< uj -< u~u) (j = 1-5)

 Design for M a n u f a c t u r i n g E l a s t i c Pivots 1115

H ,r
Thickness b(x) = H + 2pt(x'- L/2)

Height c(x) = W + 200('x - L/2)

Young's Modulus 20.98E+4 N/mm"

(A)

~12o _~..__.~

.2
.~Z l ~

I I [ I I
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
C o e f f i c i e n t Pl
(B)

2°L
15 /
/t"
,,o- t
--cv-
t
/
...o-

: position error
--O'-

O
l0
~ -.
///
2~" ---=-
---o--
--o--
: roll angle error
: pitch angle error
: yaw angle error

e~
/

/
1 I l I I
0 O.l 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
C o e f f i c i e n t Pt
(C)

FIG. 10. T h e 3-tr b a n d of torsional stiffness error in the axial-type elastic pivot.

Pc, - Per
Design constraints: II. crh~ <---~r~s
III. % --< "r*
IV. K,~,(u) = K*x
Performance requirements:
V. (KT)x = (Kr)y = (KT)~,

where

u: the design variables {H, W, Pl, P2, 0} T

Pcr: critical buckling load due to the compression force Pe
crh~: the stress at the end of the elastic pivot due to the specified bending force
Fe
%: the shear stress at the end of the pivot element due to the specified bending
moment Me
Kx: the stiffness between the rotor and the shaft when subjected to the external
1116 Y u - N E N G YANG et al.

Thickness b(x) = H + 21al (x"- L/2)

Height c(x) = W + 2~ ( x - L/2)

Young's Modulus 20.98E+4 N/ram 2

(A)

20'

~ 15

~Z
o 5
I I 1 I I I
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
CoefficientP1
(B)

--o-- : position error

+ : roll angle error
1.5 - + : pitch angle error ~~~
--o-- : yaw angleerror !.o ~

1.o

0.5
/
/
/

1 I 1 l I I
0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7
C o e f f i c i e n t Pl
(c)
FtG. 11. The 3-(r band of bending stiffness error in the radial-type elastic pivot.

forces acting on the rotor, which is associated with the so called anisoelastic
G 2 sensitivity [7].
Optimization processing was initiated using the following input variables: input bend-
ing force Fe = 100 N, compression force Pe = 100 N, input torsion Te -- 2 N-mm,
pivot length L = 1.68 mm, the coefficients corresponding to given machining sequence
13i = ~i = 2, Young's modulus E = 209.8 Gpa, tensile fatigue stress (rT,s = 1200 Mpa,
allowable buckling load P'c, = 100 N, surface yielding stress ~'s* = 1.2 Gpa, and K*x
= 23 N-mm/rad. The position, roll angle, pitch angle, and yaw angle errors of the
CNC machine were given as Q = 1 Izm, and @ = 0 = qb = 0.05 °, respectively.
Besides the mechanical constraints, namely, the pivot element buckling (constraint
I), fatigue due to the bending on the pivot element (constraint II) and yielding stress
(constraint III), the performance requirements, i.e. tuned condition constraint IV and
isoelastic constraint V, were also included. The optimization problem was solved using
the sequence quadratic programming algorithm.
Table 1 shows design variables and conditions of the constraint violation for the
final design and the optimum cost. The initial design starts with a maximum constraint
violation of 129.0 and a cost function value of 29.57. The optimum design, with a
maximum constraint violation of 1.44 E-07, is obtained at a cost function value of
 Design for Manufacturing Elastic Pivots 1117

E2
. . . . ~B

[ ] : shaft [ ] : radial-typeelastic pivot

[ ] : gimbal l: rotor

Intersection angle 0= 111.02°

Cuvature pl=0& p~0

FIG. 12. The tuned gyroscope design based on the radial-type elastic pivot and the initial dimensions.
TABLE 1. OPTIMUM DESIGN FOR THE RADIAL-TYPE ELASTIC PIVOT

Design variables Initial design Optimum design

H 1 1.3067
W 0.08 0.0681
01 0 0.3102
P2 0 0.0036
0 111.02° 110.86°
Design constraint (Lagrange multiplier) I Inactive (0.000)
II Inactive (0.000)
III Active (2.004)
IV Active (2.012)
V Active (6.193)
V(Kz~) 29.57 11.286

11.286. The pivot element for the radial elastic pivot has non-zero values of 91 and 132
for the. optimum design. It should be noticed that when the yielding stress design
constraints become active, the surface of the pivot element should be curved in order
to minimize the variance in stiffness due to manufacturing error.

CONCLUSION
Although electric discharged machining is considered an excellent machining medium
for fabricating small mechanical components, the example of gyroscope design shows
that the several micrometers tolerance can still induce a tremendous amount of variance
from the required performance. Since machining error is a dominant factor affecting
product performance, the adhering to the principle of design-for-manufacturability is
critical in the design of small components. To improve product performance, the
1118 Yu-NENG YANG et al.

dimensions as well as shape of mechanical products must be carefully designed. In

addition, the selection of a proper machining sequence can significantly reduce the
machining error with no extra labor cost. This paper has focused on elastic pivot design
for the tuned gyro. We believe that more small mechanical components should be
included in the future.
Acknowledgements--This research was supported by the R.O.C. National Science Council under Grant no.
NSC 80-0401-E009-17. In addition, the authors would like to thank Prof. C. H. Tseng for providing the
computational result based on finite element analysis.

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