High Production Manufacturing Considerations for Metallic Compliant Mechanisms With Long Thin Beams

The long thin beams commonly used in compliant mechanisms (CMs) present a challenge when manufacturing metallic CMs at high production rates. This paper discusses the difficulty of forming one-piece metallic CMs at high production rates. This is followed by a discussion of possible joining methods for assembling these mechanisms, and a selection criteria for choosing between various joining methods. This is followed by several examples of how to implement the selection criteria. Finally a list of manufacturing process choices and design factors is given, and the conclusions from the research are outlined.