S2002-1-4 Development of a CAI System for Simulating 3-Dimensional Mechanism Construction : Implementation of 4-Bar Linkage Mechanism

For beginners in mechanical engineering, it seems difficult to suppose motion of each element that composes a certain mechanism. Therefore, we have developed a CAI system for simulating 3-dimensional mechanism construction for learning mechanism. This system simulates the behavior of the mechanism by treating mechanical elements as simplified blocks. In the present study, we have implemented a 4-bar linkage mechanism to learn about converting the motion. The positions of each link in the system are determined automatically based on the information on the driver link for the convenience of users since a number of parameters are required to linkage mechanism. The user interface is designed from the viewpoint of learning, so that the driver and the fixed link are specified in advance. As an example, a simplified model of the treadle machine was made and the usefulness of the system was demonstrated.