Week 4 - Velocity Analysis in Machines and Mechanisms

This week’s episode introduces the fundamental concepts of velocity analysis in planar mechanisms, building on the kinematics foundation from previous weeks. The episode begins with a review of vector operations, including dot and cross products, and explains how these mathematical tools are used to determine quantities like angular velocity. It then covers the velocity of a point, principles of relative motion, and the velocity of a point within a moving coordinate system, breaking down each component for clarity. To demonstrate practical application, the episode includes a worked example involving a four-bar linkage, showing how these velocity analysis techniques are applied to solve for unknown angular velocities in real mechanisms.

The content was created using an AI notebook, with material adapted from textbook excerpts, lecture slides, and worked examples to provide a structured and accessible learning resource.