Supporting 40lbs Arm with Motor?

[Ether]

Originally Posted by TheKeeg

That transmission pulls back the winch to any desired start point and we have a brake system that holds the catapult in position while the winch unwinds to the desired hard stop length.

So when you said in your previous post that "we mounted a sprocket on the end of our winch. There is then a pin that inserts in the teeth/grooves of the sprocket" you did not mean that the sprocket was connected to the winch, but rather to the arm? So the winch can unwind while the arm is locked in place by the pin and sprocket?

...the winch unwinds to the desired hard stop length.

Are you saying that the winch acts as as the hard stop? Is the impact load transferred to the gearbox?