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Watt linkages and quadrilaterals
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 August 2016
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We define a Watt quadrilateral to be a quadrilateral with a pair of opposite sides of equal length. See Figure 1.
2. Linkages
The Watt linkage (Figure 2) has equal-length cranks AD and BC, A and B fixed, and coupler bar CD. It was devised by James Watt about 1784 to constrain the steam-engine piston rod, connected at E, the midpoint of CD, to approximate straight-line motion over a limited range.
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