Analysis of the displacement of distributed compliant parallel-guiding mechanism considering parasitic rotation and deflection on the guiding plate

Distributed compliant parallel-guiding mechanism (CPGM) is a particular type of compliant mechanisms. This paper establishes a new mathematical model of the distributed-CPGM based on the elastic beam (EB) theory with an increasing precision discussed from three different situations. In situation C, both the parasitic rotation and deflection of the guiding plate are taken into account, which might be tiny but do exist in reality. As for a relatively fair comparison, a more effective pseudo-rigid-body (PRB) model than the simplified traditional PRB model is also established. Then the guiding displacement, parasitic displacement and parasitic angle in the three situations are analyzed at different distances between two compliant beams, which have not been involved by any former researchers. Furthermore, the relations between the displacements and some other structural parameters are analyzed respectively comparing with the finite element method. The results indicate that the EB model in situation C is very effective with a much higher precision than other models, although the computation is more complicated. Our work could be a reference and supplement to the design and manufacture of the current distributed-CPGM. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.