[gburlison]

Originally Posted by 987HighRoller

This is because we had something like 8 potentiometers break on us last year, mainly because they get locked inside due to load on the shaft .

We have been using rubber tubing to connect the shaft of a potentiometer to a shaft that we are trying to measure the angle of rotation. If you pick the right rubber tubing, the shaft will slip if you try to rotate past the stop. We also incorporate limit switches into any arm design to insure that we don't break anything mechanical, including the potentiometer.