Flexure hinges have been used to produce frictionless and backlashless transmissions in a variety of precision mechanisms. Although there are many types of flexure hinges available, designers often chose a single type of flexure hinge (e.g., circular flexure hinges) without considering others in the design of flexure-based mechanisms. This is because the analytical equations are unique to each kind of flexure hinge. This work offers a solution to this problem in the form of a generalized flexure hinge model. We propose a new class of flexure hinges, namely, elliptical-arc-fillet flexure hinges, which brings elliptical arc, circular-arc-fillet, elliptical-fillet, elliptical, circular, circular-fillet, and right-circular flexure hinges together under one set of equations. The closed-form equations for all the elements in the compliance and precision matrices of elliptical-arc-fillet flexure hinges have been derived. The analytical results are within 10 percent error compared to the finite element results and within 8 percent error compared to the experimental results. The equations for evaluating the strain energy and stress level for elliptical-arc-fillet flexure hinges are also provided. This model can be used as a complementary model for the generalized model for conic flexure hinges.
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e-mail: gmchen@mail.xidian.edu.cn
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August 2011
Research Papers
Elliptical-Arc-Fillet Flexure Hinges: Toward a Generalized Model for Commonly Used Flexure Hinges
Guimin Chen,
e-mail: gmchen@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Guimin Chen
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
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Xiaoyuan Liu,
Xiaoyuan Liu
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
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Yunlei Du
Yunlei Du
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
Search for other works by this author on:
Guimin Chen
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
e-mail: gmchen@mail.xidian.edu.cn
Xiaoyuan Liu
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
Yunlei Du
School of Mechatronics, Xidian University
, Xi’an, Shaanxi 710071, China
J. Mech. Des. Aug 2011, 133(8): 081002 (9 pages)
Published Online: July 27, 2011
Article history
Received:
June 24, 2010
Revised:
June 14, 2011
Accepted:
June 15, 2011
Online:
July 27, 2011
Published:
July 27, 2011
Citation
Chen, G., Liu, X., and Du, Y. (July 27, 2011). "Elliptical-Arc-Fillet Flexure Hinges: Toward a Generalized Model for Commonly Used Flexure Hinges." ASME. J. Mech. Des. August 2011; 133(8): 081002. https://doi.org/10.1115/1.4004441
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