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Engineering library

The robot specifications, explained: what each number measures, how manufacturers publish it and what it cannot tell you.

Engineering library

Robot repeatability vs accuracy: what ±0.03 mm actually tells you

Repeatability says how closely a robot returns to the same taught pose. Accuracy says how closely it reaches a position you command in coordinates. Datasheets usually lead with the first.

Source-checked · 5 min

Engineering library

Robot payload explained: why a 5 kg arm cannot always carry 5 kg

Rated payload is a ceiling measured under the manufacturer’s conditions. The gripper counts, the part counts, and so does where their combined centre of gravity sits.

Source-checked · 5 min

Engineering library

Robot reach and work envelope: reading the numbers correctly

A reach figure is a single distance. The work envelope is the volume the arm can actually use, and it depends on reference points, joint limits and the tool you fit.

Source-checked · 5 min

Engineering library

Degrees of freedom: what “6-axis” and “44 DOF” actually mean

Degrees of freedom count the independent ways a robot can move. Six lets an arm set both the position and the orientation of a tool. Higher counts buy dexterity at the cost of complexity.

Source-checked · 4 min

Engineering library

Tool centre point (TCP): the point a robot actually controls

The tool centre point is the working point of the tool: the fingertip, nozzle or tip the robot moves through space. Datasheet speeds are quoted for it, and programs depend on it being defined correctly.

Source-checked · 4 min

Engineering library

DH parameters and inverse kinematics, with the UR5e as a worked example

Forward kinematics turns joint angles into a tool pose. Inverse kinematics does the reverse and usually has more than one answer. Both start from the arm’s Denavit–Hartenberg parameters.

Source-checked · 6 min