Werner van de Sande

Delft University of Technology | TU · Department of Precision and Microsystems Engineering (PME)

Compliant mechanisms (CM) with adaptive stiffness have been widely used in robotics and machine design applications. This paper proposes adapting the endpoint stiffness of a spatially curved compliant beam using a movable torsional stiffener and a new graphical characterization method for the resulting anisotropic stiffness of the endpoint for larg...

Contact force management has been proven to have a positive effect on the outcome of cardiac ablation procedures. However, no method exists that allows maintaining a constant contact force within a required and effective range. This work aims to develop and evaluate such a constant force mechanism for use in an ablation catheter. A passive constant...

The primary compliance vector (PCV) captures the dominant kinematic behavior of a compliant mechanism. Its trajectory describes large deformation mechanism behavior and can be integrated in an optimization objective in detailed compliant mechanism design. This paper presents a general framework for the optimization of the PCV path, the mechanism tr...

Dilational structures can change in size without changing their shape. Current dilational designs are only suitable for specific shapes or curvatures and often require parts of the structure to move perpendicular to the dilational surface, thereby occupying part of the enclosed volume. Here, we present a general method for creating dilational struc...

The primary compliance vector captures the predominant kinematic degree of freedom of a mechanism. Its displacement describes large deformation mechanism behavior and can be an optimization objective in detailed compliant mechanism design. This paper presents a general framework for the optimization of the PCV path of compliant mechanisms using uni...

The use of overconstrained mechanisms is often avoided in precision mechanics. Misalignments in the mechanism can cause deteriorated system behaviour, such as buckling. Overconstrained designs do have several advantages, such as higher load bearing capacity and higher natural frequencies. However, these advantages are only present if the mechanism...

Tape springs are thin-walled structures with zero longitudinal and constant transverse curvature. Folding them twice and connecting both ends creates a tape loop which acts as a linear guide. At this time, there is insufficient understanding of the influence of the tape spring's cross section on its behavior. This study investigates the influence o...

Compliant shell mechanisms utilize spatially curved thin-walled structures to transfer or transmit force, motion, or energy through elastic deformation. To design spatial mechanisms, designers need comprehensive nonlinear characterization methods, while the existing methods fall short of meaningful comparisons between rotational and translational d...

Compliant shell mechanisms utilize spatially curved thin-walled structures to transfer or transmit force, motion or energy through elastic deformation. To design with spatial mechanisms designers need comprehensive characterization methods, while existing methods fall short of meaningful comparisons between rotational and translational degrees of f...

Tape springs are thin-walled structures with zero longitudinal and constant transverse curvature. Folding them twice and connecting both ends creates a tape loop which acts as a linear guide. When using a tape spring with a non-constant cross-section, a force generator can be created. At this time there is insufficient understanding of the influenc...

Parasitic motion is undesired in precision mechanisms, it causes unwanted kinematics. These erroneous motions are especially apparent in compliant mechanisms. Usually an analysis of parasitic motion is only valid for one type of mechanism. Kinematic information is imbedded in the compliance matrix of any mechanism; an eigenscrew decomposition expre...