Design and Analysis of a 3D Printed Compliant Modified Jansen’s Linkage by Using Cartwheel Flexures

Compliant mechanisms are those mechanisms which achieve their desired motion based on their flexibility. The research describes the process of designing and 3D Printing a compliant modified Jansen’s linkage by using cartwheel flexures, which is also applicable to other mechanisms. The potential of compliant mechanisms, their repeated occurrence in nature, along with the challenges faced during designing and manufacturing are also discussed. In this paper, a finite element method approach coupled with 3D modelling, 3D printing and tensile testing is employed. The results indicate that the compliant mechanisms give a smoother walking motion, and the characteristically rigid and weak materials can be made compliant while being under the elastic limit. The use of Machine learning and Artificial intelligence in designing optimized compliant mechanisms and their future potential is briefly discussed.