Kinematic Synthesis of Plane Curves

The coupler point curve of a plane mechanism is a curve that may be described by a series of paired coordinates. An extension of the method of “damped least squares” provides a means for successive adjustment of the parameters which define a particular type mechanism. Repetitive application of this process will result in a convergence toward an optimum approximation to the desired curve as described by the series of paired coordinates. The method has been applied to a four-bar linkage as an example of application.