pic: Telescoping Arm Warning

[Alan Anderson]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

If your second telescoping stage was moving twice as fast as the first then it has a 2x mechanical advantage and sees only 1/2 the force of the first stage, not twice the force.

Calling the stages "first" and "second" implies a reference point. You're labeling things from the point of view of the driving motor, in which case I'm not sure the term "mechanical advantage" is being applied properly.

Aaron described it from the other perspective, with the slower-moving stage experiencing twice the force applied to the faster-moving stage. They were testing it by pulling down on the end, applying force to what you labeled the "second" stage.