Exact Kinematic Synthesis of a Novel Planar Eight-Bar Mechanism for Advanced Motion Generation

This article presents a successful design method of a novel planar linkage with a single degree-of-freedom, intended for advanced motion generation, which allows one to visit, in an exact manner, up to nine prescribed poses. The synthesis approach is based on formulating novel and explicit existence conditions, which are easy to understand and have a simple physical meaning, for the legs that make up the entire linkage. These conditions lead to a single closed-form design equation that must be valid for each prescribed pose. A challenging case study proposed in the literature is used to demonstrate the simplicity and potential of the proposed synthesis approach.