Introduction & Background - FC

                       Figure 1: Mechanism Diagram                                                                                Figure 2: MATLAB Kinematic Analysis

Introduction

I decided to recreate the 5-bar slotted slider mechanism, as seen in the Figure 1, with slight alterations, as seen in Figure 2. The reason I created this mechanism was to serve as a crusher for turning ingredients into a powder. The goal was to create a mechanism that could support a pestle on the slider, and using the quick return motion, use that pestle to crush ingredients in a mortar place below. 

Background

A 5-bar slotted mechanism is a quick return mechanism that turns rotational motion into vertical translational motion. The mechanism, as depicted in the above picture, consists of an input link, a slotted link, a coupler, a stationary point, and a slider. The mechanism's input link receives rotational input, which then moves the slotted link. The slotted link translates and rotates in a way that connects it to the input link and the coupler link, while also being restricted by the stationary point. The slotted link moves the coupler that is attached to the slider. This causes the slider to move up and down. A 5-bar slotted slider mechanism is also a quick return mechanism which means that the slider has quick translational motion for a short time. Afterwards, the slider moves slower as the input link is further rotated.