Kinematic Synthesis of a Six-Member Mechanism for Automotive Steering

A six-member mechanism has been synthesized to achieve five precision points of an automotive steering mechanism. The inner wheel can be rotated up to 61 degrees with fair accuracy. This result has been compared with those achieved by the Ackermann steering mechanism (ASM) and the Fahey-Eight-Member-Mechanism (FEMM). Results show that the divergent end behavior of ASM has been overcome by the present mechanism. The FEMM gives high accuracy but the ASM is less accurate. The suggested mechanism gives fairly accurate result that falls between the above two mechanisms.