A Novel Method for Prescribing the Maximum Shaking Force of a Four-Bar Linkage with Flexibility in Counterweight Design

Abstract

A new partial force balancing method for four-bar linkages, which allows the prescribing of the maximum shaking force, is presented. This two-counterweight method is based on the controlled reduction of the size of the shaking force hodograph of the unbalanced mechanism. The introduction of what has been called the equipollent circle constraint equation makes it possible to attain the identical reduction in maximum shaking force for a wide theoretical range of counterweight radii and angles. A sample problem, dealing with a 50 percent reduction in the maximum shaking force, shows that the increases in bearing forces, shaking moments, and input moment are minimal over a considerable portion of this design range.