Mobile Robot Arm

Let's Make Robots Robots
1

Robot_Arm.png1148×739

 

I made this CAD in Google Skechup after I had an epiphany. I thought this would be a really cool idea, and would give me some good experience.

Here is how it will go:

It will use 1/8inch Sintra, simialer to PVC

The Servo brackets will either be custom made from bigbluesaw.com or pre-made from Lynxmotion.com

The gripper itself will also, either be homemade from aluminum or bought.

On the gripper, the actuator of the gripper itself will either be a regular DC motor with a Motor Controller or a Micro Servo (HS-81) Most likely the latter.

 

I will be using my custom Atmega8 MCU Board, which has fourteen servo connection ports.

 

 

Taken with my webcam so please excuse the crapiness

 

 

And I made an AVR Programmer from a kit from adafruit

 

I am aiming to use all eight servos as hs-475hb servos because they are cheap and sturdy (~$15).

It will be controlled via Bluetooth from the UART connection on the Atmega board to a nearby laptop with a Bluetooth USB Dongle.

Eventually I will find a suitable wireless webcam, and skin the plastic off and mount it on the bot.

 

Does anyone have any reccomendations as to the accessories of this robot? (motors, servos...)

 

Picks up things with a robot arm

  • Actuators / output devices: 8 HS-475HB servos, 2 GM2 224:1 Offset Motors
  • Control method: BlueSMiRF Gold
  • CPU: atMega8
  • Power source: 8 1.2v Ni-MH 2500Mah (9.6v)
  • Programming language: C
  • Sensors / input devices: 2.4GHz Webcam (eventually)
  • Target environment: indoor
This is a companion discussion topic for the original entry at https://community.robotshop.com/robots/show/mobile-robot-arm
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Really cool idea

I think more robots need to be able to manipulate their environment. Sticking an arm on is a great way to do that. On your design, looks good. I think you could get away with one less servo. The last up/down link before the wrist twist could use only one servo instead of 2, as it won’t have to carry as much weight as the earlier 2 joints. And reducing that servo would take some weight off the end too. Pretty cool idea, are you making all the joint pieces or getting them from someplace like Lynxmotion? I’ve got some I’ve built up, but had considered the Lynxmotion stuff for a little more precision.

Great work on the PCB, looks well developed, hope it works well. Have you tried out the adafruit programmer yet?

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I have been thinking about

I have been thinking about using one less servo as you said, but that would look odd dontcha think? :stuck_out_tongue: Robotics is also about presentation IMO. I am going to try to fabricate all of the parts by hand/with a hacksaw/dremel/drill, that will inevitably turn out bad, and I will have to buy from Lynxmotion, I have used their servo brackets before, and they are top-of-the-line.

 

I could not find a Class-B USB cable, so I havent tried the programmer yet :confused:

 

4

Sweet
This looks brilliant. I’m excited to see your progress with it.