Mechanical design
This Chapter describes the knowledge behind making a mechanical device that desired properties, out of physical components. It contains descriptions of concepts and principles from mechanical design that are commonly used in many engineering domains:
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Scaling laws: the same mechanical principle requires very different mechanical implementations according to the scale in which the principle must work. For example, millimeter-scale devices often have a fundamentally different mechanical design as heavy-weigth robots or machine tools.
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Actuator systems: robots and machine tools must “move”, but the generation of that motion requires the integration of application-specific components, with constraints on size, energy consumption and energy density.
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Mechatronic integration: the hardware of “intelligent robots” must be as small, light, safe, … as possible, and this requires advanced mechatronic design and integration skills.
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Optimization criteria: energy consumption; weight; stiffness; accuracy; workspace; kinematic singularities; human interaction safety; remote actuation; …