MEC101 Fall 2020 Robot Design Project website is live!
MotionGen Pro is a web-based app for N-bar linkage mechanisms simulation, synthesis, and analysis. This lesson references MotionGen Pro version only, which runs in a browser. Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and Mozilla Firefox are recommended.
We also have a mobile app called MotionGen available in the app stores, but it synthesizes and simulates only four-bar mechanisms. You can download it on your phone or tablet optionally.
First, please go to http://motiongenpro.appspot.com and register. Check your email confirmation in spam folder if it does not show up in your inbox.
Take a look at the following robots and ask yourself how did the designer design the mechanisms that makes these robot move?
What is common to all these robots is that they all use a linkage-based mechanism. A linkage based mechanism is an interconnected system of levers with joints such as rotary and sliding. Some of the advantages of these mechanisms are that they are closed-loop, which provides structural rigidity, and generally need the smallest number of actuators to drive them.
Please watch following four videos, which introduce the basics of the MotionGen Pro. These videos will set the foundation for you to design your own mechanisms.