Tips on loosing weight (Not spam)

[s_forbes]

Originally Posted by artdutra04

Design everything ahead of time in CAD...

Quoting this for truth! Not only do you have the benefit of part masses being calculated quickly, but you also have the ability to alter and optimize the design on the fly. On all of the better robots that I've been a part of designing, weight was never even considered; we spent so much time creating an efficient design that weight didn't need any attention. A good design will by lightweight by nature.

It always amazes me how so much attention is spent on eliminating fractions of a pound in the drivetrain when usually much more can be saved with an efficiently designed manipulator. Remember to design the robot as a whole and not just each part independently.