A fully 3d printable, modular, ambidextrous, and powerful robot arm made from readily available and affordable components.
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BOM:
-1kg PLA filament
-a few meters of TPU filament
-5 MG996r Servos (or equivalent)
-1 SG90 servo (or equivalent)
-Jumper wires
-1 arduino Uno board
-1 voltage meter (optional)
-1 buck converter LM2596
MK 2 prototype:
MK 3 (final) Prototype
The forearm is complete! Mk3 is finished! The wrist features a full 180 degree rotation, and attaches to the hand in my previous log. The hand remains it's own independent unit, with or without the forearm. So the hand may also be used on its own. But the forearm houses an arduino uno board and buck converter, making the arm a completely self contained device. the wrist uses one additional standard sized servo. Completely modular design, the hand can be removed and swapped by removing one m8 bolt.
The third variant of the hand is complete! This new, upgraded design features a stronger and more accurate frame, flexible TPU parts, an ambidextrous design (just flip the thumb to the other side, no extra parts required!) . this design is completely modular and each independent finger is it's own self contained unit. Assembly is easy and can be done with zero tools other than a screwdriver and 3d printer. The hand without the forearm attachment uses only 4 standard sized servos and one micro servo.
A second version of the MK 2! We'll call this version "MK 2b". This version was intended for prosthetic or lightweight use! it uses only 4 standard size servos, including the one in the wrist. It is very lightweight, the trade-off is that the middle, right, and pinky all move together. Check out the video for more information on this compact hand!
Version 2 of this hand is done! Check out the video here. Uses 6 MG996r servos and 3d printed parts. The ring finger and pinky move together using one servo, to make the hand more lightweight, power efficient, and compact.
Ian Michael Gray
Supercell
Oğuz Salar
OpenBionics
3D Printers and home CNC are nice things to have -- but still hopelessly inaccessible to a large percentage of the population. I can't afford either, and even if I could, I can't think in 3D well enough to churn out a model or even alter one for my needs. 3D software literally gives me fits.
Let me issue a challenge to you: make this REALLY accessible...
Your material sources are Walmart (in-store and online), common grocery stores, and Dollar Tree (in-store only), and to a lesser extent eBay and Amazon. You can scrounge things from junk piles, curbside fortune-hunting, etc, but don't rely on that to produce anything critical.
Your budget is $100 USD. Being underbudget is highly encouraged.
Your tools are a hobby knife (X-Acto or compatible), a utility knife, pliers, a pair of bit drivers with a set of basic bits and sockets (the $10 Walmart "Hyper Tough" kit in the red case), a few standard screwdrivers, a cheap drill and basic set of drill bits, a horribly cheap multimeter, and a horribly cheap soldering iron (Rat-Shack special or compatible) with 60/40 leaded solder. (Extra credit: find a way to not need the meter and soldering equipment.)
If you can make that hand with those restrictions, it really will be accessible to everyone, at least in the USA... which would be good, because I can see applications in this for medical prostheses and the like. Good luck.