Design and Modeling of a Variable Thickness Flexure Pivot

Flexure pivots are frequently applied in long stroke compliant mechanisms to transmit motion continuously. To improve the motion accuracy, a kind of variable thickness flexure pivot (VTFP) is proposed in this paper. A nonlinear beam element is proposed by utilizing the corotational approach to model the static response of the VTFP under end loads. Finite element analysis and experimental tests are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the modeling method. Based on the static deformation model, the motion range, the rotation stiffness, the center shift, and the variation of the center shift under axial force of the VTFP are investigated. The results show that the VTFP has better motion accuracy and better ability to resist axial force compared with the conventional flexure pivot.