Robust tolerance design for function generation mechanisms with joint clearances

This paper presents a method for robust tolerance design of function generation mechanisms with joint clearances. Based on previous studies made by other researchers, we develop a model to quantify the effects of uncertain factors on the accuracy of function generation mechanisms. An improved Taguchi method is applied to determine the optimal tolerances for individual components so that the total assembly cost is minimized while satisfying the accuracy requirements of the mechanism. Unlike the traditional Taguchi method which uses orthogonal arrays to arrange experiments, the uniform design table is selected to represent noise factors in this paper. Sensitivity maps are plotted to provide an insight to the effects of parameter variances on the performance of function generation mechanisms. An illustrative example is given to demonstrate the practicality and efficiency of the proposed method.