Robo2u

Mechanical, Transmission & Materials

The structure and drivetrain: gearboxes, bearings, linear motion, wiring, materials, and the parts that carry the load.

  1. 01

    Robot Gearboxes: Harmonic & Cycloidal Drives

    Harmonic, cycloidal RV, and planetary robot drives compared on ratio, backlash, stiffness, efficiency, and backdrivability, and which joint each one fits.

  2. 02

    Linear Motion Systems: Rails, Ball Screws & Linear Motors

    Pick and size linear axes: profile rails, ball, lead and roller screws, belts, rack-and-pinion, and linear motors, with real parts and sizing math.

  3. 03

    Bearings for Robotics

    Pick and size robot bearings: ball, roller, thin-section, crossed-roller and bushings, with L10 life, load ratings, preload and fit math.

  4. 04

    Belts, Pulleys & Chain Drives for Robotics

    Size timing belts, pulleys, cable/tendon drives, and chains for robots: pitch, tension, backlash, tooth-shear math, and when to skip gears.

  5. 05

    Rotary Encoders: Incremental, Absolute & Resolvers

    Incremental, absolute, and resolver encoders for robotics: quadrature, optical vs magnetic vs inductive, BiSS-C/EnDat/SSI, and why resolution isn't accuracy.

  6. 06

    Robot Wiring, Connectors & Slip Rings

    Size robot conductors for ampacity and voltage drop, spec continuous-flex cable, pick M12 connectors, ground shields, and cross joints with slip rings.

  7. 07

    Materials for Robotics

    Pick robot structural materials by stiffness-to-weight, specific strength, fatigue and cost: alloys, titanium, carbon fiber, engineering plastics.

  8. 08

    3D Printing for Robotics

    Which additive process, material, and print settings actually make load-bearing robot parts, and where printing beats machining.

  9. 09

    Robot Enclosures & IP Ratings

    Decode the IP code, design real seals and breathers, and resolve the sealing-versus-cooling conflict for robot enclosures with worked numbers.

  10. 10

    End Effectors & Robotic Grippers

    Robotic end effectors (parallel jaw, vacuum, adaptive, soft, and dexterous hands): grip-force and payload numbers, sizing math, and a selection cheat-sheet.