Hoecken Linkage in C++ ImGui
The Hoecken linkage is a four-bar linkage that converts rotational motion to approximate straight-line motion.
Thank to conversion possibility, the linkage is willingly applied in several industrial applications. A few examples are locking pliers, bicycles, oil well pumps (above image), loaders, internal combustion engines, compressors, and pantographs.
This simple article has the goal to specify the mathematical model of Hoeclen Lingage and solve equations in C++. In order to perceive the linkage motion I performed also a simple simulation using ImGui. Please consider one of my previous articles where I gave the introduction and provide information on how to compile and run programs.
Source code you find on my GitHub.
Hoecken Linkage
The purpose of the linkage is to convert rotational motion to linear (see below).
We can model the linkage as follows,
The kinematics equation of the above linkage can be expressed as follows,
The bottom figure depicts the result of linkage motion, where point D was plotted. Motion is provided by the rotational motion of link OA. The bottom “line” of the presented figure, approximates the line. The approximation can be optimized (in order to secure a straight line) by the choice of dimensions of linkages.
The motion of the discussed linkage was simulated using the C++ ImGui.
Thank you for reading.
