Meiswinkel Automata

I am waiting to add the encoders and limit switches until I am confident I won’t need to make allowances for the mechanisms.  The gripper is just about ready for this hardware.  My friend, John Klein, and I discussed a better source for encoders than I was considering.  His sources are so much better for the electronics.  I’ll probably throw myself at his mercy for the quadrature encoder code.  So, I will need at least 2 of these arms.  One for the Programming Maestro to program, and one for me to experiment.

I probably could have waited a couple hours to post this.  It would be more impressive to see the transmission for the wrist-pitch Degree of Freedom.  The wrist-roll degree of freedom is visible in the video posted here.  At this pace, I seem to be posting each time I complete a mechanism for a DOF.

Encoders and limit switches to follow… gripper first… working from end-effector to ground on every aspect of the arm.

I have wanted to build a small robotic arm for a little while and so I decided to get it started. I have pretty good progress on the gripper and expect I should have it in the rest of the arm fabricated by the end of this month. I will likely have to send out to some firm to have a rapid prototype in order to save me some time.

The width of the gripper fully opened is 50 mm, or roughly 2 inches.

More designs, sketches, and 3-D models to follow!