In this thesis an adjustable mechanism, which is composed of a four bar linkage and double cams, is suggested and optimized to enhance versatility of the linkage design and to improve accuracy of the mechanism over a given range.
The mechanism is first optimized through dimensional synthesis of the linkage. Then the total adjustable mechanism is optimized, including cam profile optimization, to obtain the desired function of the mechanism. In the optimization problem formulation, least square error approach is adopted. Design sensitivity is analyzed using the adjoint variable technique while the gradient method is employed for numerical optimization.
Three examples are taken to test feasibility of the suggested mechanism and it is found that the mechanism is not only feasible but also can be widely used in practical mechanism design.
