Gearboxes let engineers adjust servomotors’ operating speed and resulting torque. But understanding the two major types will lead to lower costs and better performance. Engineers have long used ...

Cycloidal drives have an entrancing motion, as well as a few other advantages – high torque and efficiency, low backlash, and compactness among them. However, much as [Sergei Mishin] likes them, it ...

We’re not certain whether [Paul Gould]’s kid’s prosthetic elbow joint is intended for use by a real kid or is part of a robotics project — but it caught our eye for the way it packs the guts of a ...

Backlash, a clearance between mating gear teeth, is built into speed reducers to let the gears mesh without binding and to provide space for a film of lubricating oil between the teeth. This prevents ...