Monolithic scalable compliant mechanisms

Jared R Hunter, Bethany Parkinson, Jacob L Sheffield, Mark B Rober, Brian D Jensen, Spencer P Magleby, Nathan S Usevitch and Larry L Howell

PLOS ONE, 2026, vol. 21, issue 1, 1-20

Abstract: Scaling a physical device’s geometry results in mechanical properties changing in various ways (e.g. the cubed-squared law states that for a scaling factor C, mass scales with C3 and surface area with C2). These scaling effects can result in a device’s inconsistent and unplanned mechanical behavior when varying its fabricated size, thereby necessitating unique designs at different scales. We show that for displacement-driven compliant mechanisms, mechanical stress is uniquely invariant with scale. This effect is described theoretically, verified through computer models and physical testing, and is demonstrated in three examples: a parallel-guiding mechanism, a projectile launcher, and a deployable chair. This enhanced understanding of stress invariance provides innovative insight into the way devices can be designed for systems that operate across different scales.

Date: 2026
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0340272 (text/html)
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/file?id= ... 40272&type=printable (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:plo:pone00:0340272

DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0340272

Access Statistics for this article

More articles in PLOS ONE from Public Library of Science
Bibliographic data for series maintained by plosone ().