Bearings, shafts, gears, belts, chains, couplings, springs, linear guides, ball screws, and lead screws — selection, design considerations, failure modes, and maintenance, worked with real numbers.
No control loop can compensate indefinitely for an undersized shaft, a worn bearing, or a frame that flexes under load — the mechanical elements covered in this module set the hard physical limits every later sensor, actuator, and control-system module in this program operates within. This module works through shafts, bearings, gears, belts and chains, couplings, springs, linear guides, ball screws, lead screws, and structural frames one at a time: how each is selected, how it actually fails in the field, and what keeps it running.
Two worked calculations anchor the module in real numbers: an L10 bearing life calculation converting a dynamic load rating and applied load into an estimated running-hours figure, and a ball screw versus lead screw torque comparison that quantifies the exact trade-off between efficiency and self-locking, hold-without-power behavior.