hi all, does anyone know how to build a simple Cartesian Robotic arm?..
actually i am a undergraduate student, i m doing my final year project now…but i m stuck on how to build the hardware…
i hope all the friends here can give me some idea…if it is possible, can someone provide me some link that is about the DIY in building the cartesian arm?..thank you
Yea, these are actually somewhat simple compared to normal servo arms. It really depends what you need it for (i.e. how much space is your cube and how much you want to lift) if it just for demo purposes many things will do. You need to build three copies of an axis (though some do x and y the same and use different hardware for z), and have some way for the to transverse that axis. You can do this may different ways. One common method is with old rods and drive trains from dot matrix priters. If you need more than 18", you’re probably going to have to machine your own parts. Using stepper motors you can then accurately move a known distance on each axis. Position feedback from some sort of scale is also useful for calibration purposes. Generally people who makes this type of arm are making it for a CNC mill or plotter. Googling for home CNC will provide tons more info. and kits for converting a number of “standard” desktop mills.
See also the fab@home project for details: fabathome.org/wiki/index.php?title=Image:IMG_0110.jpg they use a CNC plotter (aka 3D printer) for making plastic objects one small drop at a time. For a good and cheap DRO see shumatech.com/products/dro-350/index.htm.
EDIT: My grammar is especially bad this morning.
What is a Cartesian robot arm? 
Looks like this type of an arm setup would be fairly easy to make without spending a lot of $$$. I’d start looking for parts in the drawer and sliding door section of your local home improvement store.
Ah, like production CNC mills. Would your budget allow for linear slides?