1

Amanda Steelman
Christian Dawson
Tim Howard
Chris Nobre

ME 370 Design Project Analysis

Technical Drawings

Two joints 3

4
2

1 2

3 1 (Ground)
1

5
2
Amanda Steelman
Christian Dawson
Tim Howard
Chris Nobre
Mechanism Description
The grip mechanism consists of three links, two full joints and a half joint, a pin in a slider. The two links
will be held together with a torsional spring in compression. The third link will be used to hold the spring
in compression. As the firing mechanism moves, at a certain position the pin in the slider will be pulled
out, releasing the third link and allowing the torsional spring to open the mechanism and release the
dart. The dart will be held in place by some sort of rubber material. The two links when released will
open enough to allow the dart to pass through without obstruction.

The propulsion mechanism is made up of five links and six pin joints. The grip is to be connected to the
second and third pin joints. The system will be propelled by a spring, originally set in tension, and held
back by a quick-release device. When released, the spring will compress and rotate the links, catapulting
the dart across the mechanism and to the dart board. The dart will then hit the bull’s eye and win the
competition.

In the drawing, the spring is attached to the second and third pin joints; however, it has been noted that
this will get in the way of the grip mechanism during the firing procedure. For this reason, we will be
moving the spring to a location that will not interfere with the motion of the grip mechanism. The four
bar linkage will allow us move the location of the spring, driving the motion of the grip without getting in
its way.
3
Amanda Steelman
Christian Dawson
Tim Howard
Chris Nobre
Analysis
Degrees of Freedom
The degrees of freedom of the mechanism were calculated using Gruebler’s Equation:

# 𝐷𝑂𝐹 = 3(𝑛 − 1) − 2(𝐽1 ) − 𝐽2

where n is the number of links, J1 is the number of full joints, and J2 is the number of half joints.

 Grip Mechanism
# 𝐷𝑂𝐹 = 3(3 − 1) − 2(2) − 1 = 1
 Propulsion Mechanism
# 𝐷𝑂𝐹 = 3(5 − 1) − 2(6) − 0 = 0

Although at first, the zero degrees of freedom on the propulsion mechanism seems strange, it can be
explained by the fact that the spring on the mechanism acts as a link of variable length. In doing so, it
reduces the degrees of freedom to zero and maintains the static equilibrium of the system. In order to
restore the one degree of freedom, a force must be applied to overcome the spring constant and extend
it past its natural length.1 This is the intended motion of our system.

Dart Flight Equations

As a prerequisite we must first determine an approximate speed at which we what to throw our dart.
Some research has showed that the average speed of a dart hitting a dartboard is approximately
17.7m/s. From this we will start our analysis with a cut down horizontal velocity of 15m/s and an
approximate height our dart must achieve at the end of flight to hit the bulls eye.

Below we have the constants used for the flight analysis and the derived quantities. Equations used to
derive flight time t, vertical velocity Vy and flight angle θ are as follows:

𝑉𝑥
𝑡=
𝑥
𝑔𝑡 2
𝑦 = 𝑦0 + 𝑉𝑦 × 𝑡 +
2
𝑉𝑦
𝜃 = tan−1 ( )
𝑉𝑥

1 Norton, Robert L. Design of Machinery: An Introduction to the Synthesis and Analysis of Mechanisms and Machines. 2nd ed.
Worcester, Massachusetts: McGraw-Hill College, 2007. Print.
4
Amanda Steelman
Christian Dawson
Tim Howard
Chris Nobre

Constants Units Derived Units

Dart Mass 16.00 g Flight Time 0.12 s

Spring Constant Low 0.35 N/mm Y velocity 3.11 m/s
Spring Constant High 0.88 N/mm Angle Required 11.71 degrees
Projectile Y required 0.31 m Velocity Required 15.32 m/s
X velocity 15.00 m/s
X Distance 1.82 m
Gravity 9.81 m/s2

Link Dimensions and Orientations

For ease of manufacturing and low weight while retaining high strength, the links will be made from
6061 Aluminum Alloy. This material is inexpensive in plate form, which allows the links to be water
jetted. For this reason, the plate thickness will govern the link thickness of ¼ inch or 6.35mm. For initial
testing, pin joints will have a diameter of 15mm. This may be modified depending on later stress analysis
of joint loads.

Orientation of the four bar mechanism has the ground linkages O2 and O4 vertical to each other. This
configuration allows us to exploit the extra height of the enclosure and maximize the angle of rotation of
our rocker link. Initial placement of the driving springs shows a clearance problem with the grip
mechanism in this configuration. The design will be revised after further analysis to move the driving
springs to the coupler link of the mechanism.

Energy Transfer
Using the velocity and weight of the dart from the flight analysis we can easily determine the required
kinetic energy the dart must have:

1
𝐾𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑡𝑖𝑐 𝐸𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑦 = 𝑚𝑉 2 = (0.5)(16 × 10−3 )(15.32)2 = 1.88 𝐽𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑒𝑠
2

This is a very small amount but this is due to the mass of the dart being extremely small. When we
consider how energy will be transferred to the dart via the moving mechanism. We must analyze the
5
Amanda Steelman
Christian Dawson
Tim Howard
Chris Nobre
kinetic energy required to move the mass of the mechanism plus the mass of the dart, not just the dart
itself.

For a worst-case scenario we will consider a point mass at the end of a massless lever being accelerated
by stored spring potential energy. The point mass will be an initial estimate of the combined mass of the
three links. Within this scenario we will investigate two potential rocker range angles and the suggested
upper and lower spring constants provided.

Equations for this analysis include:

𝐹 = 𝑚𝑎 𝜏 = 𝐼𝛼
𝑉 = 𝜔𝑅 𝜔2 = 𝜔𝑜 2 + 2𝛼𝜃
𝐹 = −𝑘𝑥 𝐼 = 𝑚𝑅 2
1 1
𝐾𝐸𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑠 = 𝑚𝑉 2 𝐾𝐸𝑟𝑜𝑡 = 𝐼𝜔2
2 2

Constants Derived
Link 1 Length 50.00 cm Mass 1.84 kg
Link 2 Length 75.00 cm Moment of Inertia 0.46 kg.m^2
Link 3 Length 25.00 cm Required omega 30.64 rad/s
Common Width 8.00 cm Alpha (Max Theta) 298.78 rads/s^2
Common Thickness 0.64 cm Alpha (Min Theta) 597.57 rads/s^2
Max Theta 90.00 degrees Force (Max Theta) 275.11 N
Min Theta 45.00 degrees Force (Min Theta) 550.21 N
Density (6061 AL) 2.70 g/cm^3 Kinetic Energy 216.07 J

Using the kinetic analysis of the linkages we can now determine the required spring extensions using the
upper and lower spring constants to provide the mechanism with the required energy.

Spring Displacement High K Low K

Max Theta 0.31 0.79 m
Min Theta 0.63 0.63 m