Trainer Controlling an Arm

Lynxmotion Electronics & Software
1

Here’s a video showing the prototype BotBoarduino Jr controlling an AL5A arm with a trainer arm.

Here’s the arduino sketch being used:

// By Devon Simmons
// Based off Basic Atom Pro program by Jim Frye

#include <Servo.h>

Servo Base;
Servo Shldr;
Servo Elbow;
Servo Wrist;
Servo Gripper;
Servo WristR;

#define BasePin 2
#define ShldrPin 3
#define ElbowPin 4
#define WristPin 5
#define GripperPin 6
#define WristRPin 7

void setup()
{
  Base.attach(BasePin);
  Shldr.attach(ShldrPin);
  Elbow.attach(ElbowPin);
  Wrist.attach(WristPin);
  Gripper.attach(GripperPin);
  WristR.attach(WristRPin);
  Serial.begin(9600);
}


void loop()
{
  Base.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(0) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );    //The trainer is wired the same as a regular arm only on the analog pins.
  Shldr.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(1) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );   //Base A0, Shldr A1, Elbow A2, Wrist A3, Gripper A4, WristR A5
  Elbow.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(2) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );
  Wrist.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(3) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );
  Gripper.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(4) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );
  WristR.writeMicroseconds((analogRead(5) * 4 + 1000) / 2.0 );
  delay(40);
}
2

Looks like you are having some fun!

Great job
Kurt

3

Very cool! I like that!

4

very nice. thanks for sharing. what is your main focus for the project? if any… or is it just for fun. :wink:

5

Oh, lol Devon works here. He’s doing a lot of the code testing for the Duino so we are ready when they hit the shelves. We are making the arm joystick thingy into a kit. 8)

6

COol! :wink:

7

I see you got it to work! Gratz!
Looking good!

Xan

8

Is the the “arm joystick kit” available yet?
(I want to build a “robot arm/control arm” very similar to the one shown in “Trainer Controlling an Arm” video.)

Thanks.

9

There is no “kit” but you should be able to reproduce the same results as we have by just following along…

10

I have x6 pre-mod servos if anyone is looking to make this??

11

I plan to buy a AL5D kit. So the servos will come with the robot arm kit.
I’ll need stuff for the control arm. (Basically, just 6 potentiometers.)
Exactly what are these “x6 pre-mod servos”? and what are they for?

12

The entire concept is we take servos, modify them to be a simple potentiometer, but still can be used with servo brackets. This makes the trainer part of the arm hardware easy…

13

Let me make sure I understand this right:
If I buy another AL5D (hardware only, no servos) kit, and buy these
6x modified servos, Can I put them together into a control arm?

How much are these “6x modified servos”? How do I order them?
(They are not listed at lynxmotion product page.)

Thanks.

14

Technically you buy the arm kit with servos. This is called the slave arm.
Then you buy another without electronics or servos.
You then put the mod-servos into that arm. This is the master control arm. using the pots in the mod-servos to control the Slave arm.

Lynxmotion doesn’t sell them… They are a hack.
Cheap servos i modified for such a purpose.

Im offering to sell them If you want them. Save you money and time doing the mod yourself. Although everyone likes a bit of soldering…

On the left is the Slave… On the right is the master with mod-servos.
youtube.com/watch?v=V2YWA2x … ata_player

15

No, you don’t need to buy another arm! You simply make a similar arm with ONLY standard size servos. Look at the arm in the video in this thread. viewtopic.php?f=6&t=4362. It is using all cheap standard sized servos / brackets.

16

I undestand that.

It’s nice video.
Just one more question: You say I can buy a AL5D (no servo, no electronics), and use the mod-servos
to build the control arm. However, the servos for AL5D are different sizes. The mod-servos in the video
look like the same size. Do they fit into the AL5D hardware?

17

Ok what Im saying is that aslong as the master is relatively the same then it will work. Each axis must correspond and The master can be made using a selection of ses brackets, so yes sorry you wouldn’t actually buy the arm kit again as the servos are different size but make a copy using standard size brackets. Effectively a custom arm.