Improving Skills in Mechanism and Machine Science Using GIM Software

The field of education has evolved significantly in recent years as it has incorporated new pedagogical methodologies. Many of these methodologies are designed to encourage students’ participation in the learning process. The traditional role of the student as a passive receiver of content is no longer considered valid. Teaching in mechanical engineering is no stranger to these changes either, where new learning activities have been designed to complement theory-heavy lectures. These activities take place in both physical and virtual laboratories. In case of the latter, the use of the GIM software (developed at the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Spain) is a promising option. In this paper, features of the GIM that are most frequently used to support and exemplify the theoretical concepts taught in lectures are described using a case study. In addition, GIM is integrated into different learning activities to show its potential as a tool for learning and self-evaluation.This research was funded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, Spanish Government Project, MINECO/FEDER, UE (grant number DPI2015-67626-P), Departamento de Educación, Política Lingüística y Cultura, Regional Government of the Basque Country (grant number IT949-16) and University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU (grant number PIE2012/14)

Parallel manipulators: practical applications and kinematic design criteria. Towards the modular reconfigurable robots

Post-PrintModern robotic manipulators play an essential role in industry, developing several tasks in an easy way, enhancing the accuracy of the final product and reducing the executing time. Also they can be found in other fields as aerospace industry, several medical applications, gaming industry, and so on. In particular, the parallel manipulators have acquired a great relevance in the last years. Indeed, many research activities and projects deal with the study and develop-ment of this type of robots. Nevertheless, usually, a bilateral communication between industry and research does not exist, even among the different existing research areas. This causes a lack of knowledge regarding works that have been carried out, the ones that are under devel-opment and the possible future investigations. Hence, once a specific field of knowledge has acquired a certain level of maturity, it is convenient to reflect its current state of the art. In this sense, the authors of this paper present a review of the different fields in which parallel ma-nipulators have a significant participation, and also the most active research topics in the anal-ysis and design of these robots. Besides, several contributions of the authors to this field are cited.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the Spanish Government through the "Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad" (Project DPI2015-67626-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE)), the financial support from the Uni-versity of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) under the program UFI 11/29 and the support to the research group, through the project with ref. IT949-16, given by the "Departamento de Educación, Política Lingüística y Cultura" of the Regional Government of the Basque Country

Hybrid Optimization Based Mathematical Procedure for Dimensional Synthesis of Slider-Crank Linkage

In this paper, an optimization procedure for path generation synthesis of the slider-crank mechanism will be presented. The proposed approach is based on a hybrid strategy, mixing local and global optimization techniques. Regarding the local optimization scheme, based on the null gradient condition, a novel methodology to solve the resulting non-linear equations is developed. The solving procedure consists of decoupling two subsystems of equations which can be solved separately and following an iterative process. In relation to the global technique, a multi-start method based on a genetic algorithm is implemented. The fitness function incorporated in the genetic algorithm will take as arguments the set of dimensional parameters of the slider-crank mechanism. Several illustrative examples will prove the validity of the proposed optimization methodology, in some cases achieving an even better result compared to mechanisms with a higher number of dimensional parameters, such as the four-bar mechanism or the Watt’s mechanism.The authors wish to acknowledge financial support received from the Spanish government through the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2015−67626-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE)), the support for the research group through Project Ref. IT949−16, provided by the Departamento de Educación, Política Lingüística y Cultura from the regional Basque Government, and the Program BIKAINTEK 2020 (Ref. 012-B2/2020) provided by the Departamento de Desarrollo Económico, Sostenibilidad y Medio Ambiente from the regional Basque Government

Multioperation capacity of parallel manipulators basing on generic kinematic chain approach

The idea of designing multioperation mechanisms capable of performing different tasks has gained prominence in the last years. These mechanisms, commonly called reconfig- urable mechanisms, have the ability to change their configuration. At present, this type of mechanisms is capturing the attention of design engineers because of their great po- tential in many industrial applications. In this paper, the basis for the development of a methodology intended for the analysis and design of multioperational parallel manipu- lators is presented. First, the structural synthesis of 6 degree-of-freedom (dof) kinematic chains that can form a 6 dof manipulator is established. Next, a general purpose approach for non-redundant parallel manipulators (PM) will be presented. This procedure enables obtaining the Jacobian matrices of any 6 dof or low-mobility PM whose kinematic chains belong to the library of chains derived from the structural synthesis. To demonstrate the versatility of the procedure, it will be applied to three PM: the first one, a 6 dof PM, the second one, a reconfigurable 6 dof PM, and finally, a low-mobility PM.This work was supoorted by the Spanish Government through the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2015-67626-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE)), the financial support from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) un- der the program UFI 11/29 and the support to the research group, through the project with ref. IT949-16 , given by the Departamento de Educación , Política Lingüística y Cultura of the Regional Government of the Basque Country

Estudio de las proteínas desde una perspectiva biocinemática: estado del arte

Las proteínas son las macromoléculas encargadas de llevar a cabo la gran mayoría de las funciones vitales que los seres vivos requieren para su existencia. Estas macromoléculas, las cuales se asemejan a pequeños mecanismos o robots, fueron descubiertas hace 200 años y observadas en su forma funcional hace menos de 60, y suponen uno de los campos de estudio más prometedores del momento. El ámbito de estudio de las proteínas es increíblemente rico y multidisciplinar, no pudiéndose abordar completamente si no es desde una combinación de la biología y la ingeniería. La investigación actual presenta grandes retos: la complejidad de las fuerzas que gobiernan las uniones atómicas, las cuales todavía estamos comenzando a comprender, y las limitaciones tecnológicas actuales que presentan serios obstáculos a la hora de tratar de comprender mejor el funcionamiento de estos robots de la naturaleza. En este trabajo, se presenta un breve estado del arte de los métodos desarrollados para resolver problemas como el plegado de proteínas o la simulación del mecanismo molecular. El artículo se centra especialmente en aquellos que están más estrechamente relacionados con la ingeniería, pero sin olvidar los métodos clásicos para tratar de comprender un poco mejor el estado actual de la técnica.Los autores desean agradecer el soporte financiero recibido por parte del Gobierno a través del Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Proyectos DPI2015-67626-P y DPI2015-64450-R (MINECO/FEDER, UE)) y el apoyo al grupo de investigación, a través del proyecto con Ref. IT949-16, del Departamento de Educación, Política Lingüística y Cultura del Gobierno Vasco

Dynamics and mechanical vibrations. Complementing the theory with virtual simulation and experimental analysis

Conference paper presented at The second International Symposium on the Education in Mechanism and Machine Science (ISEMMS 2017)The purpose of the present work is to show how the complex theory in subjects related to Mechanism and Machine Theory can be reinforced with some practicals in which the students can perform virtual simulation of the mechanisms under study, and they can even interact with real prototypes to validate by means of experimental analysis the theoretical results. This works deals with Dynamics and Mechanical Vibrations, and presents the capacities of the Dynamics module implemented in GIM software related to the obtaining of free solid diagrams, internal forces maps and diagrams, motion simulation, and so on. In addition to this, interacting with prototypes to carry out experimental measures is also proposed, so that the students can acquire a deeper understanding of some phenomena related to mechanical vibrationsThis work was supported by the Spanish Government through the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2015-67626-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE)), the financial support from the University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU) under the program UFI 11/29 and the support to the research group, through the project with ref. IT949-16, given by the Departamento de Edu-cación, Política Lingüística y Cultura of the Regional Government of the Basque Country

Optimum dimensional synthesis using GIMSYNT software

Paper presented at The 15th International Federation of Theory of Machines and Mechanisms World Congress is held during June 30 - July 4, 2019 in Krakow, Poland.In the field of mechanism design, optimum dimensional synthesis plays a significant role. Focusing on path generation synthesis, the designer has to find the most adequate mechanism capable of tracing a trajectory as similar as possible to a prescribed one. The objective is obviously clear, but, in many occasions, the methods dealing with optimum synthesis are quite complex and with a lack of transparency. Consequently, students often get lost in the insights of the optimization method and do not comprehend the influence of the different parameters that can be included in the optimization, or important choices such as enhancing the starting mechanism. Thus, they are not qualified to assess the validity of the resulting optimum design. To overcome this lack of knowledge, we propose a didactic optimum dimensional synthesis methodology mainly based on the analytic relations of the mechanism under study and considering the interrelation among synthesis variables. The guidelines of the procedure can be easily programmed and different design criteria can be incorporated. A software named GIMSYNT has been developed with this purpose, focusing on the slider-crank and the four-bar mechanism.The authors wish to acknowledge the financial support received from the Spanish Gov-ernment through the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (Project DPI2015-67626-P (MINECO/FEDER, UE)), and the financial support given to the research group, through the project with Ref. IT949-16, given by the Departamento de Educa-ción, Política Lingüística y Cultura of the Regional Government of the Basque Country