Seek and Geek 2: Toggle Lock Clamp

I noticed this toggle lock clamp on the thermoforming machine in the LMP shop. After playing
with the locking mechanism, I noticed that the locking mechanism is a bi stable system. There
was a big force required to close the lock. According to Department of Labor and Industries the
grip force for an average female is 66 lbs (293 N) and since I could close the lock by gripping the
handle tightly, there’s probably ~300 N required to close this device.

In the open position, the middle (right) the middle joint of the highlighted joints is below the
two other joints. If you apply a (rather large) force to close the lock, the system is now in the
position shown in the left. The handle has overcome the instability when all three joints are
aligned and shifted to the new position. As the length of the link increases (the joints become
aligned) the force increases. Therefore, at the instability point, it’s at the highest force in the
system. The system wants to overcome this and go to a lower force regime, resulting in the
closed position (left image).

Lettiere Seek and Geek #2 2.77