SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION / ENGINEERING CALCULATIONS
This page contains the supporting hand calculations used throughout the development of the 6-DOF robotic arm. These calculations were used as first-order engineering checks alongside physical testing and design iteration.
01 — WORST-CASE SHOULDER LOADING
The shoulder was evaluated in the fully extended configuration, where the payload produces its largest moment about the joint. Available shoulder torque was estimated from the NEMA 17 motor torque, 25:1 cycloidal reduction and assumed drive efficiency.
7.5 N·m
AVAILABLE OUTPUT TORQUE
≈1.7 kg
THEORETICAL PAYLOAD LIMIT
0.5 kg
SELECTED DESIGN PAYLOAD
≈3.4×
THEORETICAL PAYLOAD MARGIN
ORIGINAL HAND CALCULATION
02 — PRINTED LINK BENDING
The arm link was simplified as a cantilever beam and evaluated using the downstream component loads and their respective distances from the shoulder.
KEY RESULTS / TO BE ADDED
ORIGINAL HAND CALCULATION
03 — LINK DEFLECTION
The same simplified loading model was used to estimate deflection caused by the downstream loads.
CALCULATED DEFLECTION / TO BE ADDED
ORIGINAL HAND CALCULATION
04 — KINEMATIC MODEL
The DH parameters were used to define the robot’s joint and link relationships before implementing the forward-kinematic model in MATLAB. The resulting model was later used to evaluate TCP position and generate the robot’s reachable workspace.
ORIGINAL HAND CALCULATION