Acknowledgements

It is not possible to prepare a project report without the

assistance & encouragement of other people. This one is
certainly no exception.
On the very outset of this project, we would like to extend our
sincere and heartfelt obligation towards all the personages who
have helped us in this endeavor. Without their active guidance,
help, cooperation and encouragement, we would not have made
head way in the project. First and foremost, we would like to
express our sincere gratitude to our project guide, Prof. Dr. Sajid
kamran. We were privileged to experience a sustained
enthusiastic and involved interest from his side. This fuelled our
enthusiasm even further and encouraged us to boldly step into
what was a totally dark and unexplored expanse before us. He
always fuelled our thoughts to think broad and out of the box. We
would also like to thank our parents, friends and class mates for
their encouragement and all their help at times of need. We would
also like to thank our teachers and other staff for their
cooperation in our research.
Thanking you,
Hamid Raza, Usama Ijaz and group

Abstract
The major objective of our project is to design a reciprocating arm
and to move the metal piece in to and fro motion and to stop it for
a specified time period at the end of stroke length. This project is
based on our study of machinery and fluid mechanics. It is not an
easy task as there are many methods and experiments to do the
same job. As an engineer our task is to design the thing with
maximum efficiency and least cost. The reciprocating motion
means a motion in which the body moves about a mean position
in to and fro motion. There are many methods to do the job like
scotch yoke mechanism, rack and pinion mechanism, specified
gear trains, worm and worm wheel mechanism, quick return
mechanism, slider crank mechanism. Then there are many other
mechanisms based on motion of fluid like pneumatic arms and
hydraulic arms. The mechanism we chose was scotch yoke
mechanism to simplify our design.

Contents
1.

Introduction.......................................................................................................... 5
1) Purpose............................................................................................................. 5
2) Back ground...................................................................................................... 5
3) Method of investigation.................................................................................... 5
4) Scope................................................................................................................ 6

2.

Methodology........................................................................................................ 7

Introduction to design................................................................................................ 8
Mechanism and Machine......................................................................................... 8
Degrees of Freedom and Grublers Criterion of Plane Mechanism...........................9
Suitable Project Design Mechanisms.......................................................................9
Rack and pinion.............................................................................................. 10
Scotch Yoke...................................................................................................... 10
Scotch Yoke with dwell at one end..............................................................11
Scotch yoke with dwell at both ends...........................................................11
Pneumatic arm................................................................................................ 12
Quick return mechanism............................................................................... 12
Worm and worm wheel.................................................................................. 13
Selected design..................................................................................................... 14
Advantages...................................................................................................... 14
Draw backs...................................................................................................... 14
Time plan for project................................................................................................ 14

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1 Introduction
1.1Purpose
This is an initial report of fluid mechanics project of designing and
manufacturing a reciprocating arm. This report will cover all the
research and methods of production used to fulfill the objective.

1.2Back ground
Reciprocating motion (a motion in which a body moves to and fro
about its mean position) is a very important mechanism and it
had been a permanent source of an engineers interest from the
very start. It is serving engineers well with its different
applications including reciprocating internal combustion engines,
knuckle joints in production molds, and lead screws in lathe
machines, worm and worm wheels to change speed of motion and
many others.
The basic task looks simple that we just have to move a body in
to and fro motion using any mechanism of our choice. But from
engineering point of view it is not as simple as it seems. First you
have to analyze your system and it need then you have to collect
data about all the designs currently available. After this you need
to make the very important decision of which design you are
going to choose and then come the testing stage if your design
fail at this stage you have to re analyze all that you have done so
far in the project and that is what we will be doing during the task
assigned to us.
There are many designs and mechanisms devised to perform
reciprocating motion as discussed earlier as well. Some of the
designs we considered are Four Stop Reciprocating Motion, One
Rotation Two Stroke, and Rack And Pinion Reciprocate, Rack And
Pinion, Scotch Yoke, Scotch Yoke Dwell at Both Ends, Cam
Mechanism with Pause, Rotary to Linear, Reciprocate, Traversing

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Head Shaper, Scotch Yoke with dwell at one end. But to make our
design simple and economical we chose scotch yoke mechanism.

1.3Method of investigation
In order to make the best product we can. We will study articles,
scientific journals, watch videos and animations on this topic. The
complete project will be analyzed using data available on internet
and in scientific papers. Some other books will also be used to
make references.

1.4Scope
In order to understand the project one must know about its
establishment, working and method of working. We made our
best efforts in this regard and studied the project from its base.
The things that interested us were majorly different mechanisms
used to perform reciprocating motion and its wide ranged
applications. The project will be analyzed comprehensively and
everything from surface roughness to time of stroke and
mechanism of automating it will be discussed.

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2 Methodology
In order to understand the problem comprehensively background
study has been done and some of many mechanisms have been
short listed. These designs will now be further analyzed and the
best one will be selected to do the job.
So far the best design is scotch yoke mechanism but in case of
any problems or design failure other options like quick return
mechanism, gear trains worm and worm wheel mechanism, slider
crank mechanism will also be analyzed.
Calculations will be done and experiments will be performed in
coming weeks to select and manufacture the best possible
product.
Up till now we have read some research papers and analyzed
some results of previous experiments performed by other
engineers in the past.

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3 Introduction to design
3.1Mechanism and Machine
In daily life, we encounter many machines which receive energy
and transform it into useful work. Every machine consists of no. of
parts which moves relative to one another these parts are called
kinematic links or simply links or elements. when these links are
connected together they form pairs. If the motion of the pair is
completely or successfully constrained (only one type of motion is
allowed) it is called kinematic pair. Now if four of more kinematic
pairs are connected in such a way that last link is joined to first
link to transmit motion it is called kinematic chain.
A mechanism is defined as a kinematic chain in which one of the
link is fixed. It may be used to transmit power some kind of
motion or transform motion e.g. engine indicator, type writer etc.
Mechanism can be spatial (three plane) or plane mechanism
(single plane) no. of planes in which links can move.
A plane mechanism which consists of four links is called simple
mechanism if the no. of links is greater than four the mechanism
is called compound mechanism.
A mechanism becomes a machine if it is used to transmit power
and work. Example of use of mechanism as is shown in figure (1)
below. Figure (a) is an inversion of slider crank mechanism that is
used in engine to transmit power as shown n figure (b)

Fig. a) inversion of slider

crank

Fig. b) piston and crank

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3.2Degrees of Freedom and Grublers Criterion of

Plane Mechanism
In design of mechanisms degrees of freedom is a very important
concept. In mechanics degrees of freedom are defined as No. of
independent motion required to completely defined the state of
motion of a body. In 2D there are three degrees of freedom (one
rotational and two translational) and in 3D there are six degrees
of freedom, in total, (three rotational and three translational) for
completely unconstrained motion of bodies.
In mechanics of machines, DOF or mobility or movability of
mechanism is defined as No. of independent input motion leading
to single useful follower motion. The degrees of freedom of plane
mechanism is given by Kutzbach criterion.
N=3 (l1)2 jh

equ.1
Where N = no. of DOF, L = no. of links, j = no. of lower pairs
(having surface contact), H = No. of higher pairs (having line
contact).

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For simple plane mechanism with 1 degree of freedom and no

higher pairs above equation becomes
1=3 ( l1 ) 2 j0

equ. 2
3 l2 j4=0

equ.3
Equ. 3 is known as Grublers criterion for plane mechanisms with
constrained motion. The simplest possible mechanisms based on
this criterion are slider crank and four bar linkage mechanisms.

3.3Suitable Project Design Mechanisms

To start a detailed discussion on our project we must make clear
to our readers what are we trying to do in this project. First let us
discuss what is reciprocating motion which we are trying to
achieve. According to Wikipedia article available
Reciprocating motion, also called reciprocation, is a repetitive
up-and-down or back-and-forth linear motion. It is found in a wide
range of mechanisms, including reciprocating engines and
pumps. The two opposite motions that comprise a single
reciprocation cycle are called strokes.
According to Oxford dictionary
(Of a part of a machine move backwards and forwards in a
straight line. Like a reciprocating blade.
To achieve this motion there are many different mechanism
invented by different scientists with the passage of time the ones
which are under our discussion are discussed below

3.3.1

Rack and pinion

It is an assembly pair of two gears one is circular and other is flat

bar with teeth.

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The circular gear rotates over the flat bar and this causes the
reciprocating motion. The rack and pinion arrangement is
commonly found in the steering mechanism of cars or other
wheeled, steered vehicles.

3.3.2

Scotch Yoke

The Scotch Yoke is a mechanism for converting the linear motion

of a slider into rotational motion or vice-versa. The piston or other
reciprocating part is directly coupled to a sliding yoke with a slot
that engages a pin on the rotating part.

3.3.3

Scotch Yoke with dwell at one end

It is a modified form of scotch yoke mechanism. In this

mechanism the reciprocating part is made to stop for a brief

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period of time at the end of the stroke due to a dwell in scotch as

shown in figure below.

3.3.4

Scotch yoke with dwell at both ends

It is a further modified form of simple scotch yoke. In this

mechanism there is dwell at both ends of the scotch and due to
this the reciprocating part stays for a short while at both ends the

mechanism is shown in figure below

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3.3.5

Pneumatic arm

It is a hydraulic arm which does the reciprocating motion due to

the fluid present in it there is simple piston cylinder arrangement

to do the job.

3.3.6

Quick return mechanism

This is also a suitable mechanism to perform reciprocation motion

but has its own limitations

3.3.7

Worm and worm wheel

In this mechanism there is a cylindrical gear known as worm. It

has tapered threads on it. It rolls over a circular gear to produce
reciprocating motion. The assembly is shown in figure below

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Gears assembly following gear assembly can also be used to

perform the reciprocating motion

3.4Selected design
After considering our need and analyzing above given designs we
conclude that the mechanism most suitable for our design is
scotch yoke with dwells at both ends.

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Now let us tell you some of the advantages and disadvantages of

the mechanism
3.4.1
Advantages
High torque output with a small cylinder size.
Fewer moving parts.
Smoother operation.
Higher percentage of the time spent at top dead center
(dwell) improving engine efficiency.
In an engine application, elimination of joint typically served
by a wrist pin, and near elimination of piston skirt and
cylinder scuffing, as side loading of piston due to sine of
connecting rod angle is eliminated.
Now some of the draw backs are
3.4.2
Draw backs
Rapid wear of the slot in the yoke caused by sliding friction
and high contact pressures.
Lesser percentage of the time spent at bottom dead center
reducing blowdown time for two stroke engines.

4 Time plan for project

Tasks
Literature
review
Design
analysis
Fabrication
Automation
Testing of
design
Presentation

Wee
k1

Week
2

Week
3

Week
4

Week
5

Week
6