Tolerance Design for Four-Bar Function Generating Mechanisms with Joint Clearances Using Taguchi Method

This paper presents a method for tolerance design of four-bar function generating mechanisms with joint clearances using Taguchi method. Based on previous studies made by other researchers, we propose a model to quantify the effects of uncertain factors on the accuracy of four-bar function generating mechanisms. Taguchi’s approach is applied to select the optimal tolerance ranges for the design parameters of function generation mechanisms. Sensitivity maps are plotted to provide an insight to the effects of parameter errors on the performance variances of four-bar function generating mechanisms. To illustrate the efficiency of the proposed methodology, the tolerance design of a four-bar function generator with joint clearances is discussed.