Force Analysis and Curve Design for Laying Pipe in Loop Laying Head of Wire Rod Mills

Laying head is a high-precision engineering device in hot-rolled high speed wire rod production line. Previously research works are focused on the laying pipe wear-resisting. Laying pipe curve design method based on wire rod kinematics and dynamics analyses are not reported before. In order to design and manufacture the laying pipe, the motion and force process of the wire rod in the laying pipe should be studied. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to investigate the force modeling for hot-rolled wire rod in laying pipe. An idea of limited element method is used to analysis and calculates the forces between laying pipe inner surface and wire rod. The design requirements of laying pipe curve for manufacturing are discussed. The kinematics and dynamics modeling for numerical calculation are built. A laying pipe curve equation is proposed by discussing design boundary conditions. Numerical results with di erent laying pipe curves design parameters are plotted and compared. The proposed approach performs good result which can be applied for laying pipe curve design and analysis for engineering application.

Topology Search of 3-DOF Translational Parallel Manipulators with Three Identical Limbs for Leg Mechanisms

Three-degree of freedom（3-DOF） translational parallel manipulators（TPMs） have been widely studied both in industry and academia in the past decades. However, most architectures of 3-DOF TPMs are created mainly on designers＇ intuition, empirical knowledge, or associative reasoning and the topology synthesis researches of 3-DOF TPMs are still limited. In order to find out the atlas of designs for 3-DOF TPMs, a topology search is presented for enumeration of 3-DOF TPMs whose limbs can be modeled as 5-DOF serial chains. The proposed topology search of 3-DOF TPMs is aimed to overcome the sensitivities of the design solution of a 3-DOF TPM for a LARM leg mechanism in a biped robot. The topology search, which is based on the concept of generation and specialization in graph theory, is reported as a step-by-step procedure with desired specifications, principle and rules of generalization, design requirements and constraints, and algorithm of number synthesis. In order to obtain new feasible designs for a chosen example and to limit the search domain under general considerations, one topological generalized kinematic chain is chosen to be specialized. An atlas of new feasible designs is obtained and analyzed for a specific solution as leg mechanisms. The proposed methodology provides a topology search for 3-DOF TPMs for leg mechanisms, but it can be also expanded for other applications and tasks.

Message of the President elected for the term 2016-2019

It is a great privilege and honour for me to serve again as President of IFToMM for the term 2026- 2029. I thank the delegates and the Chairs of Member Organizations （MOs） for having voted my candidature and for promising support of my actions for future development of IFToMM.

Experimental Characterization of a Binary Actuated Parallel Manipulator

This paper describes the BAPAMAN（Binary Actuated Parallel MANipulator） series of parallel manipulators that has been conceived at Laboratory of Robotics and Mechatronics（LARM）. Basic common characteristics of BAPAMAN series are described. In particular, it is outlined the use of a reduced number of active degrees of freedom, the use of design solutions with flexural joints and Shape Memory Alloy（SMA） actuators for achieving miniaturization, cost reduction and easy operation features. Given the peculiarities of BAPAMAN architecture, specific experimental tests have been proposed and carried out with the aim to validate the proposed design and to evaluate the practical operation performance and the characteristics of a built prototype, in particular, in terms of operation and workspace characteristics.

Traces and echoes of De Architectura by Marcus Vitruvius Pollio in the work of Xu Guangqi in 17th century China

This study aims to investigate the role played by Xu Guangqi （1562-1633）, minister of the Ming Dynasty, in the development of European scientific and technical knowledge in China between the 16th and 17th centuries by analyzing a book of Western technology that he wrote, namely, Taixi Shuifa （On Western Hydraulics）. Several Western books related to machine knowledge are searched to trace the source of the illustrations in Taixi Shuifa. We found that Archimedes＇ screw and Ctesibius＇ machine, which are included in Vitruvius＇ De Architectura volumes, also appear in the work of Xu Guangqi.

Design and simulation of a cable-pulley-based transmission for artificial ankle joints

In this paper, a mechanical transmission based on cable pulley is proposed for human-like actuation in the artificial ankle joints of human-scale. The anatomy articular characteristics of the human ankle is discussed for proper biomimetic inspiration in designing an accurate, efficient, and robust motion control of artificial ankle joint devices. The design procedure is presented through the inclusion of conceptual considerations and design details for an interactive solution of the transmission system. A mechanical design is elaborated for the ankle joint angular with pitch motion. A multi-body dynamic simulation model is elaborated accordingly and evaluated numerically in the ADAMS environment. Results of the numerical simulations are discussed to evaluate the dynamic performance of the proposed design solution and to investigate the feasibility of the proposed design in future applications for humanoid robots.

ntroduction to the special issue on the 2015 Workshop on History of Mechanism and Machine Science

The works on History of Mechanical Engineering, particularly on Mechanism and Machine Science （MMS）, not only record and recognize past achievements and personalities but also inspires innovations for the development of mechanical engineering.

An Experimental Analysis of Overcoming Obstacle in Human Walking

In this paper, an experimental analysis of overcoming obstacle in human walking is carried out by means of a motion capture system. In the experiment, the lower body of an adult human is divided into seven segments, and three markers are pasted to each segment with the aim to obtain moving trajectory and to calculate joint variation during walking. Moreover, kinematic data in terms of displacement, velocity and acceleration are acquired as well. In addition, ground reaction forces are measured using force sensors. Based on the experimental results, features of overcoming obstacle in human walking are ana- lyzed. Experimental results show that the reason which leads to smooth walking can be identified as that the human has slight movement in the vertical direction during walking; the reason that human locomotion uses gravity effectively can be identified as that feet rotate around the toe joints during toe-off phase aiming at using gravitational potential energy to provide propulsion for swing phase. Furthermore, both normal walking gait and obstacle overcoming gait are characterized in a form that can provide necessary knowledge and useful databases for the implementation of motion planning and gait planning towards overcoming obstacle for humanoid robots.

Introduction to the special issue on the VIII Latin-American Congress on Mechanical Engineering

This special issue on Advances in mechanical engineering from Latin-America contains papers that have been presented at COLIM 2014, the VIII Latin-American Congress on Mechanical Engineering held in Cuenca （Ecuador） from November 25 to 27, 2014. The conference has been the eighth event of a series of conferences which started in M^rida, Venezuela in1999 as a conference activity mainly for promoting mechanical engineering in South America community. The previous conferences have been held in Quito, Ecuador in 2001, in Lima, Pere in 2003, in Morelia, Mexico in 2005, in Cecuta, Colombia in 2008, in Cochabamba, Bolivia in 2010, and in Cuzco, Per（~ in 2012.