Sharing my failed first attempt at a tendon-driven hand - lessons inside

[dchen]

@jonathan.rao1 Respectfully, I think this undersells it a bit. Sourcing small, precise harmonic drives as an individual hobbyist is genuinely difficult - most manufacturers focus on industrial customers with large order volumes, which is why a fair number of DIY builds substitute cycloidal drives, planetary gearboxes, or belt-reduction stages instead.

[servoken70]

Side note that might be relevant: Off-the-shelf RC servos are a reasonable starting point for a first small biped because they bundle motor, gearbox, and basic position control in one part, but they generally can't deliver the torque density or backdrivability needed to scale up to a larger, more capable build.

[ethan_fisc]

Pretty much this. One thing to add: A recurring lesson from hobbyist build logs: thermal management gets ignored until an actuator overheats and damages its own mounting hardware, at which point everyone suddenly starts caring about airflow and duty-cycle limits.