Development of a museum-quality display of mechanisms

Three interactive models were developed as part of a museum-quality exhibit of interesting mechanisms. Models of Peaucellier's linkage, Klann's linkage, and a Geneva drive were designed, analyzed, and fabricated. Peaucellier's linkage is a simple mechanism that contains seven links and is able to generate a mathematically exact straight line from only the rotation of cleverly-arranged rigid members. Klann's linkage is able to simulate the walking motion of an animal and is often compared to a crab or spider gait. A Geneva drive is a device that converts continuous into intermittent rotary motion. The models were made from brass and aluminum for both the aesthetically-pleasing quality and relative durability of the materials. All three models were created successfully and work quite well. However, as with any project, there are a few aspects of the mechanisms that could be improved, namely excessive deflections in the Klann linkage and interference issues in the Peaucellier linkage model. The ultimate goal for these exhibit pieces is to display them in the Pappalardo Laboratory for educational purposes.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2011

Author dc:creator

• Shannon, Trevor (Trevor J.)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Barbara Hughey.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/68877

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/68877