Defect-free synthesis of Watt-I mechanisms for motion generation

This paper presents an optimization approach to synthesize the dimensions of Watt-I mechanisms for motion generation without order, circuit, and branch defects. The explicit equations relating the coupler and input variables of a six-bar Watt-I mechanism are derived. The difference between the generated and required coupler positions is used as the objective function to be minimized. Using the characteristics of order, circuit, and branch defects for Watt-I mechanisms, the corresponding constraint equations are proposed to eliminate defects during the synthesis process. The Sequential Quadratic Programming method is then applied for the optimal defect-free synthesis of Watt-I motion generators. An example is given to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed method.