Geometry and screw theory in three dimensional mechanisms

The concepts of instantaneous screw axis, fixed axode and moving axode play important roles in the area of three dimensional kinematics. This dissertation presents techniques based on the use of descriptive geometry and three-dimensional vectors to determine the position of the instantaneous screw axis of a rigid body moving in space. The properties of ruled surfaces, and their significance in spatial kinematics, are also presented since fixed and moving axodes are ruled surfaces. Finally, a spatial mechanism is synthesized so that the fixed axode traced by its coupler, will have on it rulings whose positions have been predetermined by the designer.Mechanical Engineering, Department o