Kinematic Analysis and Synthesis - AC

For kinematic analysis, I used MATLAB for positional analysis, and paper calculations for velocity and acceleration analysis. I also used PMKS for checking my results and for creating animations.

The steps for my code in MATLAB include:

• Set O2 (input ground) as origin
• Find location of A (end of input) using a and theta2
• Find location of O4 (middle pin) using d and theta1
• Find theta3 and bprime (A to middle pin, used for velocity and acceleration) using (O4 - A)
• Find location of B (end of slotted joint) using A, b, and theta3
• Find theta4 using B and x-position of slider block
• Find C using B, c, and theta4

This gives all pin locations, as well as joint angles and bprime for velocity and acceleration analysis.

I then used complex analysis on paper to find analytical equations for the rotational speed and acceleration of each link, as well as sliding velocity and acceleration for the two slots. I could then import these equations into MATLAB to calculate the angular and directional, velocity and acceleration for each link and joint. The paper analysis and code are included in the appendix. Included below is the most important graph, of the (y-)position, velocity, and acceleration of the output slider block.

I then used the positional analysis in MATLAB to generate pin locations to use in PMKS, allowing a quick testing of the paths I found.