Compliant Parallel-Guiding Mechanism

This design showcases how a compliant parallel-guiding mechanism can behave identically to a rigid-body one while being made of a single uniform part. The attachment holes are sized to fit a standard LEGO technic pin.

Analysis of compliant mechanisms can be difficult due to nonlinearities in their behavior. Fortunately, a method of analysis developed by Dr. Larry Howell known as the Pseudo-Rigid-Body Model (PRBM) allows many compliant mechanisms to be treated like their rigid counterparts.

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An early PRBM publication about parallel-guiding mechanisms can be found here:
Compliant Parallel-Guiding Mechanisms

This design was developed by the Compliant Mechanisms Research Group (CMR) from Brigham Young University (BYU). Follow us at @byucmr on Instagram, @CompliantMechanismsResearchGroup on Facebook, or visit the BYU Compliant Mechanisms Research (CMR) website to learn more about compliant mechanisms.

To learn more about compliant mechanisms in general, see the following textbook resources: Compliant Mechanisms, Handbook of Compliant Mechanisms.

See our article in Nature Communications about how and why we share these maker resources.