Limits of Extramobile and Intramobile Motion of Cylindrical Developable Mechanisms

Mechanisms that can both deploy and perform desired tasks offer a multifunctional advantage over traditional mechanisms. Developable mechanisms (DMs) are devices capable of conforming to a predetermined developable surface and deploying from that surface to achieve specific motions. This paper presents new terminology that defines motion of developable mechanisms while interior and exterior to a developable surface. The limits of motion are identified using defined conditions, and it is shown that the more difficult of these conditions may be treated as a non-factor during the design of cylindrical developable mechanisms given certain assumptions.