Is it unwise to completely attach a link to say, an aluminum or steel horn for a heavy high torque servo? The alternative is to build some gearing mechanism with ball bearings (building something similar to a pf400) to take the load, but its by far leagues easier to just link a joint directly to the horn like the attached pic.
Anyone have any thoughts? we’re talking small half a kilo payloads here. Is it worth it to go the extra mile to put in a 1:1 gearing system and fit some ball bearings?
The servo horn is really meant for rotational loads. Some servos have a rear support so you can attach a C-bracket, wihch provides additional load bearing capability:
lynxmotion.com/images/jpg/brack00l.jpg
lynxmotion.com/images/html/build083.htm
A geared system which can support much more weight:
robotshop.com/en/pan-tilt-se … boxes.html
Ex: robotshop.com/en/servocity-5 … RB-Sct-325
The large gear is connected to a separate shaft which is supported by two ball bearings, lock collars etc.
So would it be wise to invest in a system with bearings, gears etc if I see no considerable droop through simulations? Will it help smooth the motion? What kind of losses do you think I’d get going with a 1:1 gear ratio to have a servo turn a shaft in bearings
Weight should not be suspended directly from a servo’s output shaft, so the bearing system is much better.It won’t necessarily help smooth the servo. The losses are whatever efficiency losses are part of the spur gears and friction in the system (should be above 90% efficient though).
