New Advances in Science of Mechanisms and Machines

A special issue of Machines (ISSN 2075-1702). This special issue belongs to the section "Machine Design and Theory".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 September 2026 | Viewed by 1327

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Renewable Energy Systems and Recycling Research Center, Transilvania University of Brasov, Brasov, Romania
Interests: mechanisms; mechanical transmissions; robotics; planetary speed increasers; wind turbines; photovoltaic systems; solar tracking systems; artificial intelligence; product design and development
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue aims to bring together researchers, scientists, industry experts, and PhD students involved in the general area of mechanisms, mechanical transmissions, and machines, and to disseminate their latest research results and exchange views on the future research directions of these fields. The design of mechanical systems and machines with high performances, lower costs, or optimal control strategies are challenges for the recent research.

Design, modeling, simulation, experimental testing, control, and optimization are effective methods for developing innovative solutions of mechanisms, mechanical transmissions, and machines. Therefore, the Special Issue focuses on the following topics, including but not limited to theoretical and computational kinematics; mechanism design; experimental mechanics; dynamics of machinery; dynamics of multi-body systems; mechanics of robots; mechanisms for biomechanics; mechanical transmissions; control of mechanical systems; linkages and manipulators; micro-mechanisms; mechanisms for renewable energy systems; intelligent mechatronic products; teaching methods; history of mechanism science; and industrial and nonindustrial applications.

Prof. Dr. Mircea Neagoe
Prof. Dr. Ioan Doroftei
Prof. Dr. Erwin Lovasz
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Machines is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mechanisms
  • mechanical transmissions
  • machines
  • robots
  • design
  • modeling
  • simulation
  • experimental testing
  • control
  • optimization
  • kinematics
  • dynamics
  • applications

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 1210 KB  
Article
Evaluating Simulation Platforms for Modular Mobile Robotic Systems
by Andrei Baneasa, Debora-Gabriela Buleandra, Ivas Catalin-Dorin and Mihai Olimpiu Tatar
Machines 2026, 14(6), 666; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14060666 - 8 Jun 2026
Viewed by 319
Abstract
Modular Mobile Robotic Systems (MMRSs) require simulation tools capable of supporting distributed control architectures, dynamic reconfiguration, and scalable experimentation. This work evaluates three complementary simulation strategies for a homogeneous MMRS composed of autonomous Two-Wheel Inverted Pendulum (TWIP) modules: (i) Webots, selected for rapid [...] Read more.
Modular Mobile Robotic Systems (MMRSs) require simulation tools capable of supporting distributed control architectures, dynamic reconfiguration, and scalable experimentation. This work evaluates three complementary simulation strategies for a homogeneous MMRS composed of autonomous Two-Wheel Inverted Pendulum (TWIP) modules: (i) Webots, selected for rapid prototyping through its integrated GUI; (ii) Pinocchio, paired with the Jiminy simulator to enable modern rigid-body dynamics and control-oriented modeling; and (iii) PyBullet, chosen for programmatic flexibility and reinforcement learning (RL) compatibility. A minimal and controlled benchmark scenario was implemented across all platforms to isolate core simulation characteristics: two differentially driven robots were coupled using the most appropriate mechanism available in each environment and simulated for 1000 steps in headless mode while monitoring CPU usage, memory consumption, and execution time. In addition, a feature-based analysis focused on MMRS-relevant requirements, including dynamic reconfiguration, multi-agent scalability, and suitability for RL workflows. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Science of Mechanisms and Machines)
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17 pages, 23434 KB  
Article
Quantitative Investigation into Friction-Induced Vibration During Mold-Opening Transience in Ultra-High-Tonnage Two-Platen Injection Molding Machines with Massive Inertia and Constraint-Guided Sliding
by Xiaozhou Chen, Bin Han, Wei Gu, Meng Chen, Chongyang Xie, Lu Ren and Haibo Huang
Machines 2026, 14(5), 565; https://doi.org/10.3390/machines14050565 - 19 May 2026
Viewed by 406
Abstract
As extreme-scale manufacturing evolves, the dynamic response of heavy moving components under ultra-high loads becomes a critical design challenge. This study focuses on friction-induced vibration of a more than 30-ton movable mass during the mold-opening stage in a two-platen machine with a clamping [...] Read more.
As extreme-scale manufacturing evolves, the dynamic response of heavy moving components under ultra-high loads becomes a critical design challenge. This study focuses on friction-induced vibration of a more than 30-ton movable mass during the mold-opening stage in a two-platen machine with a clamping force >17,000 kN. A mathematical model and a validated rigid/flexible multibody dynamics model with PID co-simulation were developed to analyze transient vibration using maximum acceleration amplitude and stability time as core metrics. The results show vibration stems from imbalance between anti-opening resistance and hydraulic driving force, amplified by vacuum collapse, static-to-dynamic friction transition at slide feet/rail interface and PID overshoot, featuring high amplitude density (>0.75 g), transience (<50 ms) and high impact (>60,000 N). The maximum vibration acceleration amplitude remains 79.22% even after there is no mold vacuum suction, indicating that a static friction force other than the vacuum suction is the dominant factor resulting in a severe friction-induced vibration. These mechanistic insights establish an applicable framework for the dynamic optimization of the heavy components in extreme-large-scale manufacturing equipment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue New Advances in Science of Mechanisms and Machines)
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