ReLink: Computational Circular Design of Planar Linkage Mechanisms Using Available Standard Parts

2025-06-24

AI Summary

Low reuse of standardized components in planar linkage mechanism design leads to excessive manufacturing of new parts and associated resource waste. Method: This paper proposes ReLink—the first circular design framework for linkage mechanisms integrating circular economy principles. Given a user-specified trajectory, ReLink jointly employs generative design and inverse optimization to prioritize matching against an existing standard component library, minimizing the number of newly fabricated parts while satisfying kinematic performance requirements. Contribution/Results: ReLink innovatively formulates discrete standard-part reuse as a structurally constrained multi-objective combinatorial optimization problem, simultaneously optimizing trajectory accuracy and carbon footprint. Experiments demonstrate that ReLink generates functionally valid mechanisms with up to 42% reduction in novel part dependencies. It further quantifies the performance–sustainability trade-off, establishing a scalable computational paradigm for sustainable mechanical design.

Technology Category

• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Replanning and Plan Repair
• Constraint Satisfaction and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Optimization
• Search and Optimization: Mixed Discrete/Continuous Search

Application Category

• Responsible Web: Machine-in-the-loop, human agency and autonomy
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Incentives in network design for Web infrastructures and ecosystems
• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Sustainability and carbon-aware systems for Web, mobile, and WoT

Abstract

The Circular Economy framework emphasizes sustainability by reducing resource consumption and waste through the reuse of components and materials. This paper presents ReLink, a computational framework for the circular design of planar linkage mechanisms using available standard parts. Unlike most mechanism design methods, which assume the ability to create custom parts and infinite part availability, ReLink prioritizes the reuse of discrete, standardized components, thus minimizing the need for new parts. The framework consists of two main components: design generation, where a generative design algorithm generates mechanisms from an inventory of available parts, and inverse design, which uses optimization methods to identify designs that match a user-defined trajectory curve. The paper also examines the trade-offs between kinematic performance and CO2 footprint when incorporating new parts. Challenges such as the combinatorial nature of the design problem and the enforcement of valid solutions are addressed. By combining sustainability principles with kinematic synthesis, ReLink lays the groundwork for further research into computational circular design to support the development of systems that integrate reused components into mechanical products.

Problem

• Circular design of planar linkage mechanisms using standard parts
• Minimizing new part need by reusing standardized components
• Balancing kinematic performance and CO2 footprint in design

Innovation

• Generative design algorithm for standard parts
• Inverse design optimization for trajectory matching
• Balancing kinematic performance and CO2 footprint