On the synthesis of compliant mechanisms

In the study of mechanisms, there is a significant set of problems for which the solutions require the application of techniques from the fields of both kinematic and elastic issues. Through an emphasis on a geometrical interpretation of these subjects, the authors formulate and solve a number of questions which arise in the design of compliant devices. An important part of this study is the development of an extension of the Frenet-Serret equations which describes the elasto-geometric properties of a thin beam viewed as a nonzero cross-sectional extension of a space curve