Kinematics & Kinetics of

Machines

Dr. Kaushik Kumar

Associate Professor, Department of Mechanical Engg.
Birla Institute of Technology, Mesra, Ranchi
Email: kkumar@bitmesra.ac.in, kaushik.bit@gmail.com,
kaushik_bit_poly@rediffmail.com
 The subject Kinematics & Kinetics of Machines
may be defined as that branch of Engineering-
science, which deals with the study of relative
motion between the various parts of a machine,
and forces which act on them. The knowledge of
this subject is very essential for designing the
various parts of a machine.

Kinematics: The study of motion without regard

to forces More particularly, kinematics is the
study of position, displacement, rotation, speed,
velocity, and acceleration.
 Kinetics: The study of forces on systems in
motion
A mechanism is a group of rigid bodies
connected to each other by joints, to form a
closed kinematic chain with one link fixed, to
transmit force and motion
A machine is an assemblage of rigid bodies
that transmits and/or transforms forces,
motion and energy in a predetermined
manner, to do work.
 Difference between Machine and Mechanism
A system can be defined as a mechanism or a machine on the
basis of primary objective.
Sl. Machine Mechanism
No.
1. If the system is used with the If the objective is to transfer or
objective of transforming mechanical transform motion without
energy, then it is called a machine considering forces involved, the
system is said to be a mechanism .
2. Every machine has to transmit It is concerned with transfer of
motion because mechanical work is motion only
associated with the motion, and thus
makes use of Mechanisms
3 A machine can use one or It is not the case with mechanisms.
more than one mechanism to A mechanism is a single system to
perform the desired function, transfer or transform motion
e.g. sewing machine has
several mechanisms
 EXAMPLE

Four bar mechanism Slider crank mechanism

A toggle mechanism with non rigid

connections
Degrees of Freedom (DOF) or Mobility
DOF: Number of independent parameters
(measurements) needed to uniquely define position of
a system in space at any instant of time.
A mechanical systems mobility (M) can be classified
according to the number of degrees of freedom (DOF).
DOF is defined with respect to a selected frame of
reference (ground).

Rigid body in a plane has 3 DOF: x,y,z

Rigid body in 3D-space has 6 DOF, 3 translations & 3
rotations three lengths (x, y, z), plus three angles (,
, ).
 Types of Motion
Pure rotation: the body possesses one point
(center of rotation) that has no motion with
respect to the stationary frame of reference.
All other points move in circular arcs.
Pure translation: all points on the body
describe parallel (curvilinear or rectilinear)
paths.
Complex motion: a simultaneous combination
of rotation and translation.
 Links, joints, and kinematic chains
Linkage design:
Linkages are the basic building blocks of all mechanisms
All common forms of mechanisms (cams, gears, belts, chains)
are in fact variations on a common theme of linkages.

Linkages are made up of links and joints.

Links: rigid member having nodes
Node: attachment points
Joint: connection between two or more links (at their nodes)
which allows motion; (Joints also called kinematic pairs)
 Open kinematic pair: is a joint for which contact
between kinematic elements is maintained only
for some possible positions of a mechanism.
Closed kinematic pair: is a joint for which contact
between kinematic elements is maintained within
all between kinematic elements is maintained
within all possible positions of a mechanism.
a)Form closed kinematic pair: is a joint for which
the contact between kinematic elements is
maintained due geometry.
b)Force closed kinematic pair: is a joint for which
some external force (i.e. weight, spring-force) is
required to keep the contact between kinematic
elements.
 Joint Classification
Joints can be classified in several ways:
1.By the type of contact between the elements,
line, point, or surface.
2.By the number of degrees of freedom allowed at
the joint.
3.By the type of physical closure of the joint: either
force or form closed.
4.By the number of links joined (order of the joint).

A more useful means to classify joints (pairs) is by

the number of degrees of freedom that they
allow between the two elements joined.
 Lower kinematic pair: is a joint for which the
contact between the two kinematic elements is
along a surface.
Higher kinematic pair: is a joint for which the
contact between the two kinematic elements is
along a line or at a point.
Degree-of-freedom (dof) of a joint: is the number
of independent parameters that is required to
determine the relative position of one rigid body
with respect to the other which is connected by
the joint. These independent parameters are
called joint or pair variables.
Open kinematic pair

Closed kinematic pairs:

Form closed kinematic pair
(Lower kinematic pairs-Surface contact)

Force closed kinematic pair

(Higher kinematic pairs-Line/point contact)
There are only six lower pairs (i.e. R, P, H, C, S, E) others are
higher pairs and only two of them (G, Cp) are given in the
above table. General point or line contact joints with pure
rolling (1 dof), pure sliding (1dof), or rolling-sliding (2-dof)
conditions are also common higher pairs. .
When one of the links of a kinematic chain is held
fixed then it is called a mechanism.
The fixed link is also called the ground link or
frame. A mechanism, which contains only lower
pairs is called a linkage.
Example: Kinematic chain versus mechanism
 If the motion of links of a kinematic chain or mechanism or linkage is:

- on a plane or parallel planes then it is a planar kinematic chain,

or planar mechanism, or planar linkage

-in three dimensional space then it is a spatial kinematic chain, or

spatial mechanism, or spatial linkage

A spatial linkage may contain any of the six lower pairs (R, P, H, C, S,
E). A planar linkage may contain revolute and prismatic joints (R, P).
Representation of revolute and prismatic joints in planar chains is
illustrated below

Kinematic representations of revolute and Kinematic equivalence for pin-in-a-slot joint

prismatic joints
 The degree of freedom of space ():The
number of independent parameters that
should be specified in order to define the
position of a rigid body in that space.
Spatial space is most general case (=6)
3 rotation, 3 translation
In planar space a rigid body has 3 degrees of
freedom (=3) : 2 translation (x and y axis) and
1 rotation (z axis).
Spherical space: (=3)Three rotation
 In a planar space the position of a rigid body can be
specified by:
*2 points on the body (Wrt a fixed ref.)
*1 point on the body and angle from this point to the
second point (Wrt a fixed ref.) XA, YA and
*Radius and angle from origin of fixed ref. to the first
point and angle from this point to the second point
(r, and )

(XA-XB) 2+(YA-YB)2=a2
Degree of freedom of Mechanisms (F)
It is the number of independent parameters that
should be specified in order to define position
of every link in the mechanism.

GRUEBLERS EQUATION FOR PLANAR

MECHANISMS M= 3L-2J-3G
Where
M = degree of freedom or mobility
L = number of links
J = number of full joints (half joints count as 0.5)
G = number of grounded links =1
Example
 If DOF > 0, the assembly of links is a mechanism
and will exhibit relative motion
If DOF = 0, the assembly of links is a structure and
no motion is possible.
If DOF < 0,then the assembly is a preloaded
structure, no motion is possible, and in general
stresses are present.
 Paradoxes
Greubler criterion does not include
geometry, so it can give wrong
prediction
Four bar linkages
 Grashofs Rule
For a planar four-bar linkage, the sum of the shortest and
longest link lengths cannot be greater than the sum of
remaining two links if there is to be continuous relative
motion between two members
Let s= length of the shortest link
l =length of the longest link and
p, q= lengths of other two links
CASE 1: If s+ l > p+q then no link can make full
revolution relative to any of the other links. So
there cant be any crank
DOUBLE ROCKER LINKAGE
CASE 2 : s+ l < p+q then the shortest link makes full
revolution relative to the other links. So there may
be cranks depending on which link is the fixed link.
a, b) one of the links adjacent to the link s is fixed Link
s makes a full rotation. The other link connected to
the fixed link oscillates.
CRANK-ROCKER MECHANISM
c) The shortest link is the fixed link. Both links
connected to the fixed link are cranks.
DOUBLE CRANK MECHANISM
d) The link opposite to the shortest link is fixed
(Link s makes complete revolution)
CASE 3- If s+ l = p+q then again the shortest link can
make full rotation relative to the other three links.
The same possibilities of case 2 occur. But
whichever link is fixed there is a change position
(change point) when all links are collinear.
Eg

The follower link may change direction of rotation.

UNDETERMINED POSITION
Special cases of s+ l = p+q
*Parallelogram linkage

Whichever link is fixed. DOUBLE CRANK MECHANISM

The most common four bar mechanism is the crank
rocker mechanism with crank as input.
Crank rocker mechanism:
With crank as input, a constant rotation is converted to
an oscillation. The limit positions of the rocker are
called DEAD CENTER POSITIONs
 Mechanical Advantage
Is the ratio of the output torque to the input torque . In a
four bar mechanism this is the ratio of torque at the
follower (link 4) to the torque at the driver (link 2).
In the force analysis it can be observed that the
mechanical advantage of a four bar linkage is directly
proportional to the sine of angle between coupler and
follower and inversely proportional to the sine of angle
between coupler and driver. (these angles changes
continuously during motion of the mechanism)
 Transmission angle
The angle between coupler and follower is called
transmission angle. If this angle becomes small
mechanical advantage decreases. It is common to use
the four bar mechanism where this angle is around 45 -
50 degrees. The angle changes place if driver and
driven links (Follower) are replaced!
Figure 1.1