Search

The compliant mechanisms (CMs) are monolithic structures where the displacement is given by the flexibility of their structural members. Thus, the CMs show certain advantages compared with their counterparts, the rigid bodies; since assembling or lubrication are not required. This paper presents a systematic methodology to produce a gripper-type CM, from the design to their manufacture. For designing the CM, the topology optimization method (TOM) is used, where optimal structures are automatically designed by distributing a given amount of material within a specified design domain seeking for maximizing the displacement at a point. Next, a series of operations are applied to the TOM design for reducing the geometry complexity and then manufacturing costs. With the proposed methodology, an optimal and functional CM with innovative geometry is obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]