Compliant mechanism design course

23rd -24th March 2026

Compliant Mechanisms (CM) are proposed to achieve macroscopic linear and rotary motions without friction, wear, backlash, and with extremely high fatigue performance thanks to the elastic deformation of flexible structures. They are used in harsh environments such as vacuum, cryogenic and space where friction is to be avoided while high-precision and a long lifetime are required.

While the potential of CM in space has already been proven over many years, their development can still be challenging. This course will address the complete development aspects for compliant mechanisms, comprising of design and analysis, manufacturing, assembly and testing focused on space systems. The recent advances on CM brought by additive manufacturing will also be presented.

This course is intended for engineers involved in the design, manufacturing and testing, for managers and anyone else interested in having a practical knowledge of the advantages and challenges of compliant mechanisms.

The course will cover the following subjects:

Introduction to compliant mechanisms
Presentation of space applications using compliant mechanisms
Design principles and methodology
Finite Element Analysis guidelines
Material and lifetime aspects
Subtractive and Additive Manufacturing guidelines
Failure modes and preventions
Integration and testing guidelines
Sensor and actuator selection and integration
Specific control aspects for compliant systems
ECSS standards

REGISTRATION IS OPEN

Please note that due to the nature of the information that will be provided, this course can only be provided to delegates from entities registered in the ESA Member and Co-operating states (ONLY). Applications from delegates from outside registered ESA member states and Co-operated states may be considered on a exceptional basis. Should they be permitted to attend they cannot take pictures nor have access to the electronic copy of the Hand-outs.

Documentation:

The course will be held on the 2 days prior to the Workshop and Space Mechanisms Final Presentation Days organized by ESA-ESTEC so that delegates can combine attendance of this course with attendance at the Workshop and MFPD.

The registration fee includes a personal electronic copy of the presentation slides plus refreshment breaks each day.

Note that this course is not part of the Workshop and Mechanisms Final Presentation Days and an additional fee of 900€ (exclusive of any taxes) is payable for delegates attending this course. For students presenting valid justification, the fee is reduced to 400€.

Category	Fee
Standard registration	900€
Student registration	400€

LIONEL KIENER

CSEM SA

lionel.kiener@csem.ch