Educating compliance : a foundation-first, hands-on approach to compliant mechanism design

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Air, Alan and Wodehouse, Andrew (2026) Educating compliance : a foundation-first, hands-on approach to compliant mechanism design. Proceedings of the Design Society, 6. 2901 - 2910. ISSN 2732-527X (https://doi.org/10.1017/pds.2026.10648)

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Abstract

Compliant mechanisms achieve motion through elastic deformation, yet their core ideas are rarely taught before digital tools. This paper presents a foundation-first, hands-on method using lattice structures to introduce compliant mechanism design. In a pilot workshop, students analysed how rigid-body mechanisms move and redesigned them as compliant via tactile exploration and paper-based sketches, producing clear conceptual outputs and reporting improved understanding and confidence. The results show the value of early experiential learning before progression to digital and automated tools.

ORCID iDs

Air, Alan ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8578-485X and Wodehouse, Andrew ORCID logoORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9605-3497;
CORE (COnnecting REpositories)