Sensitivity analysis of planar mechanisms

When designing a new mechanism, the designer has to know its kinematic parameters: position, velocity, acceleration, the number of design options, specific positions, motion ranges of particular links, effects of manufacturing tolerances of links and clearances in kinematic pairs on functioning of the mechanism. The latter parameter is associated with sensitivity of the mechanism, understood as its ability to respond to even minimal variations of the driving link position. The source of information about these parameters becomes the objective function obtained through the application of the modification method. This study explores the effects of clearances in kinematic pairs and structure of the mechanism on its sensitivity.