Magneto-Active Compliant Slider-Rocker Mechanisms for Creating High-Energy Linear Motion

Abstract This study investigates the design of magneto-active bistable compliant mechanisms for creating high-energy motion. Compared to traditional actuation methods, magneto-active actuation can enable remote and wireless control due to the ability of uniform magnetic fields to remotely induce torque on magnetic materials. In this study, we focus on bistable compliant mechanisms with slider-crank or slider-rocker geometries, where the input is a magnetic field-induced torque and the output is the linear motion of the slider. We investigate how the bistable design enables triggerable energy release during the rapid snap-through motion after the mechanism passes the unstable equilibrium. First, we introduce methods to determine the magnetic programming direction of the input link that enables reversible actuation between stable positions at the lowest possible magnetic field strength. Next, we investigate the design space to identify the geometries that maximize the energy stored in the mechanism's dominant spring and minimize the input magnetic field. Results from this study can guide the design of compliant mechanisms for creating high-energy motion when triggered by external uniform magnetic fields, such as remotely actuated rapid jumping or launching actuators for robotic applications.