A4WD1 Gripper Kit

Lynxmotion Robot Arms
1

Are there wiring instructions for the A4WD1 Gripper Kit ? thanks?

2

What electronics do you plan to use it with?
Note that the gripper really only uses RC servos.

3

Thanks Coleman

i have added the front gripper to the 4wd1 rover body which also has the AL5 articulating arm – they are connected to the BEC-KT base electronics board

thanks a ton

4

As such, it’s really up to you which servo pins on the SSC-32 to use for the gripper, rotate and tilt servos. You’ll need to modify the code accordingly.
To confirm - you have an A4WD1 with AL5 and now a front gripper? We’re curious to see a photo or two of the robot.

5

thanks so there is now wiring diagram for all three on a single unit?
also, i purchased the pc model, how hard is it to convert it to a playstation controller?

thanks

6

Can you indicate which products you have? You indicate the “PC model”, but for which unit?
A few clear images would help us a lot.

7

thanks, so i asked them to kit me a rover product with gripper arms and front gripper that i could control from the PC – they were kind enough to put together the product for me so i didnt pick the parts

i got the following:

Lynxmotion Aluminum A4WD1 Rover Kit
Product Code: RB-Lyn-63 1 USD $219.95

Lynxmotion AL5D 4 Degrees of Freedom Robotic Arm Combo Kit (FlowBotics Studio)
Product Code: RB-Lyn-673 1 USD $349.80

Sabertooth Dual 12A 6V-24V R/C Regenerative Motor Driver
Product Code: RB-Dim-43 1 USD $64.99

BAT-06 12.0V / 2800mAh Ni-MH Battery Pack
Product Code: RB-Hpr-06 1 USD $53.90

6V - 12V NiMH / NiCd Smart Charger
Product Code: RB-Ten-02 1 USD $21.95

WH-01 Wiring Harness with Battery Connector
Product Code: RB-Onl-12 2 USD $4.58

BAT-05 6V / 2800 mAH Ni-MH Rechargeable Battery
Product Code: RB-Hpr-05 1 USD $26.95

Lynxmotion SSC-Servo Controller (Bluetooth Kit)
Product Code: RB-Lyn-825 1 USD $94.90

Mini USB Bluetooth Module
Product Code: RB-All-20 1 USD $10.95

SSC-32 Servo Sequencer Utility
Product Code: RB-Dsp-07 1 USD $0.00

WH-03 Wiring Harness for 9V Battery
Product Code: RB-Onl-14 1 USD $4.95

9V Alkaline Battery
Product Code: RB-Ten-15 1 USD $1.49

Lynxmotion 4WD1 Robot Gripper Kit
Product Code: RB-Lyn-96 1 USD $72.00

8

Nice list. Hope you post an image! To convert it to a Playstation controller, it’s really best to purchase a BotBoarduino and PS2V3.
Although the FlowBotics Studio AL5 Arm project has PS2 support with two additional channels (spare A / B) which can be used for the A4WD1 base, it really doesn’t have support for an additional gripper with rotate and tilt.
The choice is then up to you, so here are a few ideas:

]merge the two grippers so they open and close together (you would use a Y-cable so both servos are connected to the same pin on the SSC-32)/:m]
]merge the wrist rotate pin as well/:m]
]merge the A4WD1 tilt servo associated with the lower servo with the wrist rotate/:m]
This is assuming that you’ll really only ever need to grip one object at a time, though in reality may not always be the case.
Another, much more difficult option is to purchase a BotBoarduino and PS2V3 remote control (and optional PS2 mount).
The Arduino sample code is again only for a base plus arm, so you would need to create and add your own code for the additional gripper and servos.

9

thanks Coleman, so can you tell me exactly what to buy, part numbers? and is there a wiring instruction for these parts? and if i get these parts i take the adruino board out of the rover, or do i replace the arm board with the botboardruino? thanks

(i just hope when i get the parts i dont make a mess out of it – i thought when they put the kit together for me at the robotshop (Julie Gendron) i would have gotten the correct piece the first time :-/ …but its ok, i just want to get this thing running

thanks for your help

10

You do actually have the correct parts if you want to control the arm and the A4WD1 base; the FlowBotics software (AL5 arm project) can control the arm as well as the base using a wired PS2 controller.
The issue is really the additional (second) gripper and associated servos, since that setup is nor normal, it is not covered in the AL5 Arm project within FlowBotics Studio.
You can however become familiar with the FlowBotics software and add additional pin controls so you have full control over the three additional servos.

If you are prepared to share some of the pins (for example having both grippers connected to the same pin means they will open and close together) then it can still work without modifications.

You can use other software (which does not use inverse kinematics or a nice graphical interface so you need to control one servo at a time) to control everything as well:
Try the SSC-32 Sequencer Utility; you can plug the extra three servos wherever you want and control them separately.

Once again, proceeding with a BotBoarduino approach, you’ll need to modify the sample code, which is not easy if you’ve never coded before.
If you really want to go this route, we can specify the components you would need.

To summarize: you have all of the necessary parts; you just need to either use different software or understand and modify the FlowBotics AL5 Arm Project.
The BotBoarduino approach should only be considered if you have previous experience programming.