Scalable six bar linkage mechanism for re-orienting and aligning objects: Design methodology

This paper summarizes the work done in the context of an industrial research project in collaboration between the Italian Institute of Technology and the company Fameccanica Data Spa. This paper introduces the design of a six bar linkage mechanism, actuated by a single motor, for re-orienting and aligning objects. The main application consists of grasping empty bottles lying flat on an input conveyor, rotating, aligning and placing them in upright position on another conveyor. The breakthrough aspect of the general and scalable design introduced lays in a system of kinematic equations whose solutions correspond to the linkage lengths. Such lengths define a six-bar-linkage able to re-orient and align vertically a generic object. Finally, this paper presents the mechanism prototype created for such industrial application for performing tests in an operational environment at high speed.