4 ms·

can anyone recommend a good intelligent robot arm kit for building myself?

by porter 9y ago

dbcurtis 9y ago
Depends on your goals and budget. I've seen a lot of cheap hobby servo based arms. Precision is awful, payload is miniscule. OTOH, you will learn why precision is important :) and you will learn the software of arm motion planning. The next step up in cheap arms is to build around Bioloid/Dynamixel style servos, which will increase the budget significantly, but you will end up with useable but coarse precision. Meaningful payloads will still cause servos to overheat but at least those brands will shut down rather than smoke -- usually. If you want to do serious research you will need a serious budget. Arms are hard. This is not to say you can't have a lot of fun and learn a lot with something less. A friend build a smart task lamp around Bioloids -- the goals was a lamp that would autonomously aim a work light where he was soldering by following the soldering iron tip using CV and a cheap web cam. This is totally within the payload and precision limits of hobby servos, and the software can run on a RasPi.
cr0sh 9y ago
Based on reviews I have read, this arm is probably the best you can get on a budget: http://dobot.cc/dobot-magician/product-overview.html http://dobot.cc/dobot-magician/product-overview.html Now - granted, that's a lot of money for a small robot arm (actually, it isn't - price out a TeachMover or Rhino arm), but take a look at it - it's not just a robot arm. Probably it's best additional use is as a 3D printer - so if you have given thought to buying one of those, too - well, here you can have both. You can also purchase one on Amazon, if you prefer that method. It was also reviewed in March in Servo Magazine: http://www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/issue/2017/03 http://www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/issue/2017/0... Now granted, this arm isn't a kit - but usually, if you want a kit, you'll sacrifice precision, and if you want precision, you'll get it (usually) pre-built. Note that the lower the mass on the end of the arm, the more precise it will be and move (and be able to lift more). If the servos or motors are mostly near the base of the arm, that's going to be the best placement; the popular "pallet stacking" style parallel arm kits you see sold out there typically have this arrangement, with only a servo on the end for the gripper (one of these actually isn't bad, if you pair it up with quality metal-gear dual-ball bearing servos). Another option would be to 3D print a robot arm; there are plenty of examples and files out there for that, if you already have a 3D printer or access to one. You might look around on Ebay or similar for an older "vintage" desktop robot arm from the 1980s (and old TeachMover or similar arm is ideal), and try to repair or refurbish it (there are a few sellers that do this as well, and their work can be stellar - but you'll pay the price for it, too). For instance, I got an old Rhino XR-1 arm from Ebay for a couple hundred dollars - it's controlled using a simple serial port (RS-232) protocol. Most of those early arms work the same way. Another option might be to try to replicate one of those early robot arms, or build your own arm from parts - pringles cans can make a great starting point! Finally - and only do this if you are really serious - you can find on Ebay used industrial robot arms for sale; look for one that is "lab grade", as they'll usually be smaller in size and cleaner (most of the arms on there - while a great buy considering what they cost new - are so big you'll need a truck and pallet jack to move them, plus 440v to run 'em - not to mention all the hydraulic mess). The downside will probably be on the interfacing end; you might have to do something custom there (ie - rip out the old controllers and hack your own in place).
VLM 9y ago
The first question is what do you want to do with the arm and why can't a mechanically simpler contraption like a gantry be used if fixed or something like a dump truck or flatbed truck for mobile?
taneq 9y ago
How much DIY do you want to do? https://github.com/AngelLM/Thor https://github.com/AngelLM/Thor

can anyone recommend a good intelligent robot arm kit for building myself?

by porter 9y ago

can anyone recommend a good intelligent robot arm kit for building myself?

Depends on your goals and budget. I've seen a lot of cheap hobby servo based arms. Precision is awful, payload is miniscule. OTOH, you will learn why precision is important :) and you will learn the software of arm motion planning. The next step up in cheap arms is to build around Bioloid/Dynamixel style servos, which will increase the budget significantly, but you will end up with useable but coarse precision. Meaningful payloads will still cause servos to overheat but at least those brands will shut down rather than smoke -- usually. If you want to do serious research you will need a serious budget. Arms are hard. This is not to say you can't have a lot of fun and learn a lot with something less. A friend build a smart task lamp around Bioloids -- the goals was a lamp that would autonomously aim a work light where he was soldering by following the soldering iron tip using CV and a cheap web cam. This is totally within the payload and precision limits of hobby servos, and the software can run on a RasPi.

cr0sh 9y ago

Based on reviews I have read, this arm is probably the best you can get on a budget: http://dobot.cc/dobot-magician/product-overview.html http://dobot.cc/dobot-magician/product-overview.html Now - granted, that's a lot of money for a small robot arm (actually, it isn't - price out a TeachMover or Rhino arm), but take a look at it - it's not just a robot arm. Probably it's best additional use is as a 3D printer - so if you have given thought to buying one of those, too - well, here you can have both. You can also purchase one on Amazon, if you prefer that method. It was also reviewed in March in Servo Magazine: http://www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/issue/2017/03 http://www.servomagazine.com/index.php/magazine/issue/2017/0... Now granted, this arm isn't a kit - but usually, if you want a kit, you'll sacrifice precision, and if you want precision, you'll get it (usually) pre-built. Note that the lower the mass on the end of the arm, the more precise it will be and move (and be able to lift more). If the servos or motors are mostly near the base of the arm, that's going to be the best placement; the popular "pallet stacking" style parallel arm kits you see sold out there typically have this arrangement, with only a servo on the end for the gripper (one of these actually isn't bad, if you pair it up with quality metal-gear dual-ball bearing servos). Another option would be to 3D print a robot arm; there are plenty of examples and files out there for that, if you already have a 3D printer or access to one. You might look around on Ebay or similar for an older "vintage" desktop robot arm from the 1980s (and old TeachMover or similar arm is ideal), and try to repair or refurbish it (there are a few sellers that do this as well, and their work can be stellar - but you'll pay the price for it, too). For instance, I got an old Rhino XR-1 arm from Ebay for a couple hundred dollars - it's controlled using a simple serial port (RS-232) protocol. Most of those early arms work the same way. Another option might be to try to replicate one of those early robot arms, or build your own arm from parts - pringles cans can make a great starting point! Finally - and only do this if you are really serious - you can find on Ebay used industrial robot arms for sale; look for one that is "lab grade", as they'll usually be smaller in size and cleaner (most of the arms on there - while a great buy considering what they cost new - are so big you'll need a truck and pallet jack to move them, plus 440v to run 'em - not to mention all the hydraulic mess). The downside will probably be on the interfacing end; you might have to do something custom there (ie - rip out the old controllers and hack your own in place).

VLM 9y ago

The first question is what do you want to do with the arm and why can't a mechanically simpler contraption like a gantry be used if fixed or something like a dump truck or flatbed truck for mobile?

taneq 9y ago

How much DIY do you want to do? https://github.com/AngelLM/Thor https://github.com/AngelLM/Thor