DRAFT Proposed Revisions to the OPERATIONS MANUAL FOR THE MECHANISMS COMMITTEE March April May June, 1997 Comments for Revision 5: These revisions include email discussion by the committee. Revised Article II to clarify the election process. The first three sections now deal with the election of new members and the last two sections deal with the Chairperson-Elect. Added Chairperson-Elect to the Executive Committee. Updated Art. IV, no. 3, to better take advantage of electronic balloting. The previous 30 day period intended for postal mail is replaced by a more general statement that allows sufficient time for ballot receipt, return, and 7 days consideration.

Comments for Revision 4: These revisions are based on email discussions after the Mechanisms Committee Teleconference, March 17, 1997 and received in the following ten days. Art. I, no. 4, replace "Educational Subcommittee" with "Mechanisms in Education Subcommittee" Art. II, no. 3, replace "immediate past" with "current." Art. III, no. 3, replace "Subcommittee members and chairpersons" with "Subcommittee chairpersons and members, the Secretary, and the Spring Design Show and Conference Coordinator." Art. III, no. 6, replace "Mechanism Student Design Competition" with "Student Mechanism Competition," which is what it has been called. Art. III, no. 9, deleted "Computation and Software", changed "Theoretical Kinematics" to "Theoretical and Computational Kinematics" and added "Software Development." Art. I, no. 2, unless already duly elected members, the Mechanisms Conference Chairperson and the Technical Program Chair are identified as ex-officio members. This is primarily a logistics detail to circumvent a possible complication that either the Mechanisms Conference Chairperson or the Technical Program Chair might not a committee member. (The explanation is a

little complicated but the plan is to have a future DETC chairperson first be a Mechanisms Conference Chairperson. However the Mechanisms Committee elections are in the Fall of even years and the future DETC host is decided the following Spring by the DED Executive Committee and making it arkward to implement the plan without the ex-officio provision.) Art. II, no. 3 has been divided into two parts. A provision has been added to extend the term of the Chairperson-Elect if he wouldn't otherwise be an elected member of the Mechanisms Committee when becoming Chairperson.

Comments for Revision 3: These revisions are based on discussions during the Mechanisms Committee Teleconference, March 17, 1997. Replace title "Operations Manual for the Mechanisms Committee" with "Mechanisms Committee Bylaws." Eliminate the Nominations Subcommittee Secretary solicts nominations for membership to the General Mechanisms Committee (Article 4.1) A Chairperson-Elect is elected and the past Chairperson-Elect is recommended to DED as the new Chairperson (Article 2.3) Changed committee to subcommittees where required "Spring Design Show Conference Coordinator" changed to "Spring Design Show and Conference Coordinator" "tutorial sessions" replaced by "tutorials" Technical subcommittee names revised

Comments for Revision 2: The major revisions are to reorder the bylaws in a logical manner into four titled articles: Structure Elections Appointments and Subcommittees Procedures There are also some small changes in phrasing and the elimination of redundancies. The Papers Coordinator is now referred to as the Technical Program Chair, which seems to be the common designation across the Design Engineering Division. Overall, the content and scope is essentially the same as the previous revision.

Preface: The principal operational change is the establishment of a Mechanisms Conference Committee. Led by a chairperson, it will be responsible for organizing the Biennial Mechanisms Conference, held within the Design Engineering Technical Conferences during even numbered years.

In the past, the Chairperson of the Mechanisms Committee has also been the 1) defacto Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference, and 2) Chairperson of the Design Technical Conferences. By creating a distinct conference committee, it is expected that the Chairperson of the Mechanisms Committee can provide better leadership in promoting the welfare and interests of the mechanisms community. Analogously, separating the Chairperson of the Mechanisms Committee from the Chairperson of the Design Technical Conferences can provide similar benefits, but a specific procedure in the Operations Manual is not warranted. Other changes include: Alternative forms of balloting made explicit Reformulation of the Executive Committee Establishment of a Tutorial Coordinator Identification of standing and technical subcommittees Revised topical areas of technical subcommittees Format: Deletions to the current Operations Manual below are stuckout and additions are bold. Changes where made to highlight the differences from the current manual and further changes in document layout are warranted. Submitted by, Harvey Lipkin Chairperson of the Mechanisms Committee Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference (de facto) Co-Chairperson of the Design Engineering Technical Conferences 1998 Webmeister of the Mechanisms Committee

OPERATIONS MANUAL FOR THE MECHANISMS COMMITTEE MECHANISMS COMMITTEE BYLAWS September, 1990 April, 1997 ARTICLE I - Structure 1. The General Mechanisms Committee shall function in accordance with the provision in ASME MS-11, the Design Engineering Division Constitution and By-Laws, and other pertinent directives of the society.

2. The General Mechanisms Committee shall consist of fifteen elected members. The Mechanisms Conference Chairperson, Technical Program Chair, and past chairperson of the Committee, shall be ex-officio for two years unless he/she is also a duly elected member. 3. An Executive Committee shall be established to recommend policy changes, initiatives, and other issues to the General Mechanisms Committee. The Executive Committee shall consist of the following five positions: o Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee o Past Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee o Chairperson-Elect of the General Mechanisms Committee o Secretary o Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference o Member at Large - Papers Coordinator o Member at Large - Spring Design Show Conference Coordinator. 4. A Mechanisms Conference Committee shall be established to plan, organize, and administer the Mechanisms Conference. The conference committee shall include, but not be limited to the following positions: o Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference o Past Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference o Papers Coordinator Technical Program Chair o Tutorial Coordinator o Chairperson of the Mechanisms in Education Educational Committee Subcommittee

ARTICLE II - Elections 1. Members of the General Mechanisms Committee shall be elected from a slate of nominees at a committee meeting held at each Mechanisms Conference to take office on January 1 of the next odd-numbered year. Each member shall serve for a term of six years. No more than five new members shall be elected to serve full terms of six years. 2. The elected membership of the General Mechanisms Committee shall be maintained at fifteen, or in the case of Article II, Section 5, at sixteen. 3. If the General Mechanisms Committee has a vacancy, the committee shall elect a replacement to serve out the unexpired term as soon as practical.

The number of new members to be elected to the General Mechanisms Committee shall be no more than necessary to raise the membership of the General Mechanisms Committee to fifteen but shall not normally exceed five in any year; this process shall be repeated such that the full quota of fifteen members is maintained.

4. The General Mechanisms Committee shall elect one of its current or incoming members for recommendation to the Design Engineering Division for appointment by the chairperson of that Division as chairperson as ChairpersonElect of the General Mechanisms Committee, to take office on January 1 of the next odd-numbered year for a period of two years. 5. The immediate past current Chairperson-Elect General Mechanisms Committee shall be elect one of its current or incoming members for recommendation recommended to the Design Engineering Division for appointment by the chairperson of that Division as Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee, to take office on January 1 of the next odd-numbered year to serve for a period of two years. In the event the that current Chairperson-Elect would not be an elected member of the General Mechanisms Committee on January 1 of the next odd-numbered year for a period of two years during this period, then the elected member term shall be extended for the period of service, thereby temporarily increasing the number of elected members to sixteen.

ARTICLE III - Appointments and Subcommittees 1. The Chairperson-Elect of the General Mechanisms Committee shall appoint the following positions in sufficient time for them to all take office together with him/her: o Secretary of the General Mechanisms Committee o Chairperson of the Mechanisms Conference o Technical Program Chair o Spring Design Show and Conference Coordinator 2. The Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee shall, after consultation with committee members, make all subcommittee appointments, issue the charge, and, with adequate lead time, designate the chairperson for each subcommittee. 3. Subcommittee members and chairpersons Subcommittee chairpersons and members, the Secretary, and the Spring Design Show and Conference Coordinator shall be appointed by the new Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee as soon as practicable after January 1 of odd-numbered years, shall take office immediately, and shall serve a two year term. 4. Each subcommittee shall have no fewer than three members, including the chairperson. Except for the chairpersons of the committees designated in Article II, Item 1 subcommittees, a subcommittee member need not be a member of the General Mechanisms Committee. 5. The Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee shall, after consultation with committee members, appoint the following standing subcommittees including but not limited to the following: o Mechanisms Conference Arrangements

o o o o o o o o o o

Honors and Awards Mechanisms in Education Nominations Spatial Mechanisms Machine Dynamics Robotics and Manipulators - Dynamics and Controls Robotics and Manipulators - Kinematics CAD/CAM of Mechanisms Planar Mechanisms Cams, Machine Elements and Computer-Coordinated Systems

6. The Mechanisms in Education subcommittee shall organize and administer the Mechanism Student Design Competition Student Mechanism Competition. 7. The Secretary shall be the chairperson of the subcomittee on Nominations, and all members of the General Mechanisms Committee shall be subcommittee members. 8. The Member at Large - Spring Design Show Conference Coordinator will be appointed by the chairperson-elect of the General Mechanisms Committee. 9. The Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee shall, after consultation with committee members, appoint technical subcommittees of topical interest as suggested by the members. The scope of the subcommittees shall cover, but not be limited to the following areas: o CAD/CAM of Mechanisms Computation and Software o Cams, Machine Elements and Computer-Coordinated Systems o Machine Dynamics o Machine Elements o Mechanical Automation Systems o Robotics and Manipulators - Dynamics and Controls o Robotics and Manipulators - Kinematics o Planar Mechanisms o Spatial Mechanisms o Software Development o Theoretical and Computational Kinematics 10. The chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee shall, after consultation with committee members, appoint a Papers Coordinator The Technical Program Chair who will shall be responsible for coordinating the paper review process and developing technical sessions distributing to the chairpersons designated in Article II, Item 1 of the educational and technical subcommittees all papers (both overseas and domestic) submitted to him/her for conferences sponsored by the Committee. The Papers Coordinator will serve as a Member at Large of the Executive Committee member of the Executive Mechanisms Conference Committee.

11. The chairpersons of the educational and technical subcommittees for Spatial Mechanisms, CAD/CAM of Mechanisms, Machine Dynamics, Planar Mechanisms, Robotics and Manipulators-Dynamics and Controls, Robotics and Manipulators-Kinematic, Cams, Machine Elements and Computer-Coordinated Systems, and Mechanisms in Education will shall be responsible for obtaining reviews and recommending technical sessions for of technical papers submitted in their respective areas for conferences sponsored by the Committee. 12. The chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee shall, after consultation with committee members, appoint a Tutorial Coordinator who shall be responsible for planning and organizing tutorial sessions tutorials at conferences sponsored by the Committee. The Papers Coordinator will serve as a member of the Mechanisms Conference Committee. 13. The subcommittees shall render reports to the General Mechanisms Committee when so requested by the Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee.

ARTICLE IV - Procedures 1. Meetings of the General Mechanisms Committee shall be called by the chairperson at least once a year, including the meeting during the Mechanisms Conference. 2. Six members of the General Mechanisms Committee including the chairperson shall constitute a quorum. If the chairperson is unable to attend, the chairperson he/she may delegate the authority to preside at a meeting to the secretary or another member to act in his/her stead. 3. With concurrence of the committee, any vote by the General Mechanisms Committee may be conducted by mail ballot, electronic ballot, or other available balloting means at the discretion of the chairperson. To be valid, mail ballots must be returned in approximately 30 days; the deadline must be stated on all ballots. All ballots must state a voting deadline that provides sufficient time for ballot receipt, return, and atleast seven days consideration. 4. The standing subcommittee on nominations secretary shall solicit nominations by for membership in the General Mechanisms Committee members in sufficient time to present a slate to the General Mechanisms Committee during the Mechanisms Conference. 5. A subcommittee having a vacancy may submit names of nominees to the Chairperson of the General Mechanisms Committee for his/her approval or request that he/she make of an appointment. 6. The by-laws become effective upon ratification by the General Mechanisms Committee and can be amended by ten affirmative votes of that Committee at any of its meetings or by mail ballot.

7. An up-to-date copy of the by-laws shall be filed with the Design Engineering Division. ____________________