WYRD MECHANISMS

A Wyrd mechanism is a compliant mechanism (such as the animation at the top right) that has motion similar to a double parallel mechanism (the rigid-link version of which is shown in the animation to the bottom right). Animations are courtesy of the MIT Precision Compliant Systems Lab.

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The mechanisms are examples of how compliant mechanisms can be used to create specific desired motions. The coupler point rotates but does not translate, as if the point were pinned to ground but it is actually unconstrained. The mechanism workings are disguised by integration with various shapes (in this case, animals).

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The compliant mechanism topology was developed by the CMR as an illustrative example, and the motion is based on a well known rigid-link mechanism. The term "Wyrd mechanism" was coined by CMR students, and the word "wyrd" is ancestral to the modern "weird" (e.g. see Shakespeare's usage of wyrd in Macbeth).