A theoretical design of a bellow-shaped statically balanced compliant mechanism

Statically balanced compliant mechanisms (SBCMs) have found applications in various engineering fields owning to their monolithic design and zero actuation force. Here in this paper we proposed a new SBCM system composed of a thin-walled bellow coaxially placed with a balancer inspired by the bendy straw. Theoretical models for both components were developed to predict the evolution of deformation and strain energy, which were then verified through numerical simulation and experiment. Furthermore, the effect of geometric parameters on the behavior of the balancer was studied, from which the key parameters that respectively determined the curve shape and magnitude of the strain energy were obtained. A case study indicated that by optimizing the geometry of the balancer, the compliant system achieved a nearly zero actuation force that was only 3.62% of the maximum force of the stand-alone bellow.& nbsp; (c) 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

A new SBCM system composed of a thin-walled bellow coaxially placed with a balancer was proposed and its theoretical models were developed, verified through numerical simulation and experiment. The effect of geometric parameters on the behavior of the balancer was studied and a case study indicated that optimizing the geometry of the balancer could achieve nearly zero actuation force.