Is there a standard way to formally describe a mechanical machine? Similar to how a .obj file defines a 3d shape? Some standard way of describing piece types, interactions, properties, movement ranges, etc.

Then one could have a computer use the format to learn/find interesting configurations based on a catalog like https://507movements.com/ especially if paired with simulation like done in this Disney research project using gears and linkages https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfznnKUwywQ

Show 5 replies

I find telescopic crane boom internals interesting because they can have more than a few sections that all nest within each other. There's an Australian channel CEE that has an ongoing restoration of a Frena crane by disabling some of the sections as unnecessary for practical use because it can place loads way, way into the air (albeit at the expense of capacity and stability). Show 2 replies

I'd like to see someone make a "compound trombone" with this mechanism

Are such racks tech used at an industrial level?