Table of Contents

Topic Page #

Abstract 4
Acknowledgement 4
1. Introduction 5
1.1 History 5
2. CAD Design 6
2.1 List of Parts 6
2.2 Dimensions 6
3. Material Required 7
3.1 Components for Assembling links 7
3.2 Operations Performed 7
4. Working 8
5. Conclusion
List of Figures
Figure# Page #

5
Figure 1. Flapping Wing Mechanism
5
Figure 2. Leonardo da Vinci's ornithopter Design

Figure 4. CAD design of Mechanism 6

Figure 4. List of Parts of Mechanism 6

Figure 5. Pine Wood 7

Figure 6. Flat Head Nails 7

Figure 7. Cutting Operation 7

Figure 8. Hardware Design of Mechanism 8

Abstract
This project aims at the development of a bio-mimetic mechanism for a Flapping Wing
Mechanism, without considering the aerodynamics of the wings in the design. This artificial
bird will be the size of approximately 30-40cm. The kinematics model of the flapping
mechanism movement was constructed. The flapping trajectory of the wing based on the
kinematics model was to mimic the motion of a pigeon wing in flight. To reduce the
manufacturing complexity, the flapping mechanism was simplified with only two degrees of
freedom (flapping) retained. This is followed by a review of natural flappers. The
aerodynamic and kinematic pattern of hummingbirds, bats and small birds are summarized.
Using a qualitative evaluation, the quality of concepts is determined according to different
criteria such as size, and accuracy. The best concept is used as a basis for a CAD design of
the mechanism. During the design process, the focus is set more on getting a simple
mechanism, which could resemble a flapper. Concluding, the mechanism is manufactured
and assembled to prove the feasibility.
Acknowledgments
We would like to express our special thanks of gratitude to Engr. Shahbaz Ahmed who gave
us the golden opportunity to do this wonderful project on Flapping Wing Mechanism.
Specially during the CAD design, their experience was supportive. It also helped us in doing
a lot of Research and we came to know about so many new things. We are really thankful to
them.
 1. Introduction

Flapping Wings Mechanism is a manned aircraft or an unmanned flying machine in which

the driving airfoils have a flapping, reciprocating, or oscillating motion, instead of the rotary
motion used in airplanes and helicopters. The purpose of the flapping mechanism is to
convert the rotary motion into the reciprocating motion of flapping wings. There are many
ways to do this. The basis for most mechanisms is called a "four-bar linkage". There is a
rotating crank shaft, driven by the handle. As the crank goes around, the connecting rods push
the wings up and down.

Figure 1. Flapping Wing Mechanism

1.1. History
Figure 2. Flapping Wing Mechanism
Some early manned flight attempts may have been intended to achieve flapping-wing flight,
but probably only a glide was actually achieved. They include the purported flights of the
11th-century monk Eilmer of Malmesbury (recorded in the 12th century) and the 9th-century
poet Abbas Ibn Firnas (recorded in the 17th century). Roger Bacon, writing in 1260, was also
among the first to consider a technological means of flight. In 1485, Leonardo da Vinci began
to study the flight of birds. He grasped that humans are too heavy, and not strong enough, to
fly using wings simply attached to the arms. He, therefore, sketched a device in which the
aviator lies down on a plank and works two large, membranous wings using hand levers, foot
pedals, and a system of pulleys.

Figure 3. Leonardo da Vinci's ornithopter

Design

Figure 4. Leonardo da Vinci's ornithopter

Design
 2. CAD Design
The winner concept is now converted into CAD design. The CAD design for mechanism
provides an easiness for manufacturing. For this purpose, Linkage software is used. In place
of wings, 4 links are used. Similarly, to represent crank a link is used. The dimensions and
the size of mechanism is adjusted using the Auto Dimension command. The resulting
mechanism can be seen in Figure 4.

Figure 5. CAD Design of Mechanism

2.1. List of Parts

Following are the parts to be used in Flapping Wings Mechanism:
 Wing 1
 Wing 2
 Wing 3
 Wing 4
 Crank

Figure 4. List of Parts of Mechanism

2.2. Dimensions Figure 4. List of Parts of Mechanism

The following table summarizes the dimensions of the parts which are used in this
mechanism.

Names of Parts Dimension (cm)

Wing 1 08
Wing 2 26
Wing 3 21.5
Wing 4 34
Crank 04
Table 1. Dimensions of Mechanism
 3. Material Required
To design Flapping Wing Mechanism, we used Pine wood. Pine is a coniferous wood that
can be found in a variety of locations in the Northern Hemisphere. It is one of the most
popular woods used in manufacturing and carpentry and can be found in many homes around
the world in the form of flooring, windows, furniture due to its fine, smooth grain.
The knots which are produced in pine wood are usually small and neat, and make a beautiful
addition to the wood; they are chosen to give the furniture a clean, rustic look. Although it is
classed as a soft wood, pine is one of the strongest softwoods on the planet, with many
carpenters and manufactured preferring to use it over the softer spruce for creating furniture.

Figure 5. Pine Wood

3.1. Components for Assembling Links

The components required for assembling the wood’ links are:
 Flat Head Nails

Figure 6. Flat Head Nails

3.2. Operations Performed

The different operations performed are:
 Cutting
 Drilling
 Filing

Figure 7. Cutting Operation

 4. Working
The purpose of the flapping mechanism is to convert the rotary motion into the reciprocating
motion of flapping wings. There are many ways to do this, but we used wood links for this.
The mechanism is lightweight and fairly simple. Yet it also provides a fairly symmetrical
wing motion.

The basis for most mechanisms is called a "four-bar linkage". There is a rotating crank shaft,
driven by a handle. As the crank goes around, the connecting rods push the wings up and
down.

5. Conclusion