I’m looking to buy an AL5D, and have many questions about how to configure my order. We could take the “843” kit as a starting point, but then I would like to make some changes and additions.
Can I upgrade the SSC-32U USB to an SSC-32U Bluetooth?
I would like to add the Wrist Rotate (Medium).
What do you call the Grip(per) comes with this kit? Is it the “Little Grip” or something else? If so, what?
For the Vacuum Gripper Kit, is its own Wrist Rotate the same as any of the individual Wrist Rotates (such as the Medium)? If not, what is it?
If I get the Vacuum Gripper without its own Wrist Rotate, can I mount it to the Wrist Rotate (Medium) that I mention in my #2 question, above?
What is the step-by-step process for switching back and forth between the original (with the 843 kit) grip and the vacuum gripper, assuming wrist rotate is installed? How long would it take to do this, given skill and familiarity with the task?
If I switch these end effectors routinely, am I going to wear out something pretty soon?
What do you do with the original grip, if you don’t have the Force Sensing Resistor? How do you know how far (in space) / how long (in time) to close it? If the gripped object is rigid, is there a risk of burning out the servo? If the gripped object is soft, it would seem there is an obvious risk of crushing it. Is the purpose of the FSR to avoid crushing while simultaneously holding on firmly enough to avoid dropping the object?
Under what circumstances do you need the Servo Extender Cable?
After reading earlier Forum posts, I definitely want a 5A power supply.
Can the Sharp Upgrade Kit (distance sensor) be used with wrist rotate?
If the Sharp Upgrade Kit is installed, how does that affect the end effector switch referred to in my #6 question, above?
Can the original kit (843) be upgraded to an A-style gripper, or does the latter have to be ordered in addition?
What are the trade-offs between the original grip and the A-style gripper? Can the FSR be used with the A-style gripper? If not, how does one avoid crushing soft objects? Can the Sharp distance sensor be used with the A-style gripper? (I’m thinking “no” to the last, based on the full product name of the sensor, but want to confirm with you.)
It is indeed the [RB-Lyn-48] that is bundled with the AL5 series by default.
The [RB-Lyn-356] actually uses the same components as the medium wrist rotate upgrade kit. The main difference is that the RB-Lyn-356 adds some small intermediary components to attach the vacuum device to the wrist rotate, which you will need to use them together. Therefore, you should add the RB-Lyn-356 to your order and not get the RB-Lyn-453.
See answer above.
Since the process only involves changing the end effector part of the assembly, it is a rather straight forward and quick process, once you are accustomed to it. Maybe a few minutes, at most, once you know the steps? You can see those here (PDF) or here (HTML) to assemble the vacuum grip kit with wrist rotate. Also, you can find all the other relevant steps for assembly of the AL5D here.
The main this you may wear out would be the taps into the white plastic horn of the servomotor, which is easily (and cheaply) replaced.
This requires calibration and testing, as assembly also affects which pulse value will correspond to which gripper position. Simply assemble the entire little gripper and then test it out sending test pulses (ex: 500 µs, 1000 µs, 1500 µs, 2000 µs, 2500 µs) and see where this places the gripper. If the object(s) has(have) fixed sizes then you can easily use proper values for each case. If size and hardness is not known in advance, you will most likely want to use an FSR or something else with a similar purpose to prevent slippage, crushing, etc.
Yes, very much so. Be careful! Also, see the last part of the previous answer.
Indeed. Also see last part of answer #8.
Yes, that is exactly what it would be used for.
The AL5 kits come with all the required cables so that you can properly connect the servomotors to the controller board (SSC-32U or BotBoarduino). They are needed for the end effector, wrist angle and wrist rotate since they are too far to reach the controller with just the cables attached to the servomotors.
The current AL5 kits are all shipped with the RB-Hap-01, which is our newest 6 V DC, 5 A power supply. It is a very sturdy power supply (made the changes last year around mid-October).
Yes it can. Though it is quite possible the screws for the servo horn will not be long enough since the adapter plate for the sharp sensor is quite thicker than the brackets typically used with servo horns. You should be able to use with with both the gripper and the vacuum grip, though it may not be perfectly aligned directly with the vacuum grip.
It would simply change what parts you are changing/removing when doing the switch. It should still be relatively simple to do.
It has to be purchased separately.
The A-style gripper opens wider (~1.8" vs 1.3" for the little grip). The A-style gripper had smaller “fingers” and therefore may have more difficulty holding on to objects with irregular shapes. Of course, both grippers have very different shapes, lengths/sizes and servo position, which can affect how it is used with the AL5 in your application.
One definite trade off is that it will not be compatible with the sharp kit mentioned above without much longer screws. You can most likely find those in any hardware stores.
Yes it can, but it may be a bit harder to have it hold in place since the “fingers” are much smaller.
See the last part of answer #14 above.
One of our mechanical engineers suggested to always leave the gripper as end effector and simply have it hold the vacuum gripper when you want to use it, therefore making the switch much simpler and quicker (and also reduces risk of wearing parts down).
Please note that some of your customization do not have any set procedure or manuals. Therefore, you will have to fiddle with those (i.e.: trial and error) and see how you can make it work!
Also, we recommend that you check out this blog article if you did not already. It does cover a lot of information that you may find useful. Especially useful is the table at the end showing all the kits and how they relate to each other.
Also, see the last part of the previous answer.