Stiffness Analysis of a Fully Compliant Spherical Chain with Two Degrees of Freedom

This chapter introduces and investigates a fully compliant spherical chain that is obtained by the in-series connection of two identical primitive spherical flexures with coincident center of spherical motion. The compliance matrix of the proposed chain is obtained via an analytical procedure and validated via finite element analysis. Comparison with an equivalent fully compliant chain employing straight beam hinges is also provided to highlight the added benefits when using primitive spherical flexures