I’m thinking of buying a LynxMotion AL5D arm for a specific scenario: We have a small camera that needs to be calibrated. For that, we’d want the arm to grab it (or mount the camera on top of the arm) and then the arm would assume various positions, stopping in each for a second or two to give the camera a chance to make a good picture.
I’ve watched several YouTube videos with the LynxMotion arms and it seems that there is a good amount of jittering once it stops. That would obviously not be good to take a clean camera picture. In the videos, the jittering seems to subside fairly quickly after standing still, but I want to make sure: Is it possible to have the robot stop and stay for a few seconds in any position without any jittering?
What kind of positions do you expect to take? Are they fixed on 2D plane in 3D space or do they require full 3D movement? This matters, as their might be better solutions than a robotic arm for your situation. If you can provide a diagram of your expected setup, that would help understand it better and provide more adequate advice.
Most of the jittering is due to the RC servomotors holding their position under load (and a bit due to the quality of assembly of the user, since this does come as a kit). When under very little or no load, the jittering after rest might not even be noticeable, depending on the motion executed and how far the end-effector (grippe) is from the base. Some positions certainly are better for the servomotors.
To see how well it would perform, we mounted a GoPro HERO4 Silver Edition Action Camera on a AL5D (directly on top of the gripper). We weighted out GoPro & casing at ~145 g. It should be mentioned that at median reach, we only recommend ~115-120 g as a maximum payload for proper use. Of course, it was very jittery in most motions and did not move well, since the load exceeds the recommended payload. It would still be ok for filming (somewhat) but probably not for precise pictures. A possible option would be to remove the gripper, its servomotor and bracket. This would reduce the torque required quite a bit. Also, a shorted arm should be used, such as the AL5A. In such a setup, it would most likely be much more possible since the camera would be much closer to the elbow/shoulder/base and therefore require a lot less torque to move around.
All being said, it is doable and it may work well with an arm with a shorter “forearm” (to reduce torque due to distance from base) and no gripper (to reduce torque due to weight). Please note that this may not still meet your requirements as this arm is not meant for high-precision / stable motions, since it is made with hobbyist-grade RC servomotors.
You may want to look at other options, depending on your positioning requirements, such as using a CNC/routing type of setup and placing it vertically instead of horizontally, such as the RB-Mab-73. It may have enough torque to lift the camera and would allow for relatively precise positioning.
