Build a Great Robot Arm: the Perfect Arduino Project for Beginners

Posted on April 28, 2015 by resourcefulman

Arduino is a cheap and fun way to build your own electronics . It can also be difficult to get started. Here, we’ll show you how to get a comprehensive Arduino tutorial with an awesome project: building a cute robot hand .

In this tutorial, we will introduce you to Arduino using the meArm robot arm project as a guide for various skills. MeArm is an open source kit that has all the parts you need to build a small Arduino-based robotic arm. You can order a pre-packaged set from stores like Hackaday , or download the plans from Thingiverse and cut them yourself. You can use a laser cutter, a 3D printer, or even cut out parts from wood. The kits are relatively cheap (I bought mine for about $ 50) so it’s pretty affordable.

Why a robot arm?

Mastering any new skill is always a challenge. Arduino can be especially challenging because you are essentially learning how to build entire electronic devices from scratch. This requires learning several new skills at the same time: electricity, breadboarding, coding, sensors, servos, remotes, assembly, and more.

Any of these skills are difficult to learn on your own. While there are tons of tutorials out there on the internet, it’s important to have a single overarching goal that you can aspire to . We also know that your brain learns better if you spread your learning over time . What worries you wo n’t hurt.

Building a robotic arm is a long-term project that can meet all of these needs at once. I’ve personally tried to constantly learn Arduino projects for the past nine months or so, and during that time, the robot arm was the best learning experience I’ve had, especially because:

This is complex: it is difficult to find the first project. It’s even harder to find someone who can really teach you something. You can build an LED circuit quite easily, but then all you have is an LED circuit. Learning how to assemble a robot arm will teach you how to assemble a circuit, how to program an Arduino, and how to work with moving parts. Eventually, you will have a real physical thing that will do what you programmed it to do. It is not just a control lamp that comes on when a button is pressed.
It can be expanded: if 45 different Iron Man suits taught us anything, it’s that you can always improve the robot. This robotic arm kit starts with some basic fundamental skills, but you can develop it with a wide variety of extensions. You can add remote controls (like infrared orBluetooth ) and even learn how to expand your Arduino’s capabilities with additional shields . Just ask, “What else can I do?” and you can find many new skills that you can learn without starting a new project from scratch.
This is pretty damn cool: Chances are, if you read this far, it’s because you care about the thought of your own robot. Robots are cool. They can also seem futuristic and inaccessible. If you learn better, when you’re excited about what you’re learning, then it’s hard to beat a robot arm to break into the world of Arduino.

All that being said does not necessarily mean that this should be your first project. It could be! But if you’ve never touched a PCB, you can take your time. Don’t think of the robotic arm as your first step. Consider this your final exam. Once you get a good Arduino starter kit , you should try a few basic things like connecting an LED to a breadboard or operating it with a button just to learn. However, you can probably skipthe Love-O-Meter project .

Most importantly, google everything . Remember, this is a long term project. We won’t walk you through every step, but we will show you the building blocks you will need to get there. Don’t expect to start with no experience on Friday and finish by Sunday with an intelligent remote controlled robot. We will have many links to guides throughout this article, and we fully expect you to get out of here, follow these guides for a few hours, and come back. Think of it not as a walkthrough, but as a map. If you get a little lost along the way, don’t be afraid to stop and ask for directions.

What do you need

This guide will be divided into two main sections. First, a basic robot arm will be built and put into operation. The second will show you a few additional projects that you can use to expand its capabilities. To get past the first section, you will need the following:

Arduino Starter Kits: Most Arduino starter kits will include the basic components you’ll need for this project (as well as many others). You will need an Arduino (we will be using the Uno R3 ), wires of various lengths, a USB cable to connect to a computer, a breadboard, and a potentiometer that can later be used as a knob to control your robot. on the. Adafruit offers several starter kits here for different price points . This kit, in particular, includes everything listed for $ 65. Later, you may also need a 470uF capacitor, which you can buy from RadioShack for a very low price .
MeArm Kit: For simplicity, you can buy the entire kit here . This includes everything needed to assemble the hand itself. If you wish, you can download the plans here and make them yourself. Plans do require very precise dimensions, so only use this option if you have access to tools that can properly cut (or 3D print) the parts.
Arduino IDE: The IDE (or Integrated Development Environment ) is the program you will use to write and download software called “sketches” into your Arduino. You can download the official Arduino IDE here . From personal experience, I’ve found the previously covered CodeBender to be a great browser-based alternative that stores your thumbnails online for easy access.

They will help you get started and cover the basics. There is also a lot to buy all at once, so don’t be discouraged if you don’t want to go beyond that. Over time, you will be able to replenish your arsenal with additional tools and equipment.

What this project entails

We’ll assume you’ve purchased everything in the first bulleted list in the section above and are ready to build your robot. We won’t detail each step once it’s done in other, more formal guides, but we’ll walk you through the various stages of the project. You can do this at any pace you like, but we’ll break it down into chunks that you can do over the course of a few weekends.

Stage one: construction

What it entails: In this step, you are about to assemble a robot arm. It won’t do anything yet, but it will look cool. The company that created the kit has detailed instructions here . Your kit should include a set of assorted plastic parts, some screws, and four servos. If you’ve never used a servo before, this is a small, low-powered motor that will power your robot. This set uses one at the base, two on each side of the hand, and one at the grip. If you’ve ever created furniture from IKEA, this shouldn’t be too difficult. Just follow the instructions exactly. The robot is more fragile than your coffee table, and over-tightening a screw here or using the wrong part can give you a headache. Luckily, the instructions above are very detailed and will warn you repeatedly before you can do anything that messes with you, so you’re in safe hands.

What You Will Learn: Personally, this is my favorite part because you will learn something that is ignored in most project guides: how to build this thing . Many projects show you a concept attached to a breadboard, but never transfer it to something real. Here you will learn how to attach servos to the working parts of the finished project. You will also learn the subtle art of working with tiny moving parts.

Time required: The construction part here can be completed in just a few hours. However, I recommend giving your work a little immersion in life. If you’ve never worked with robotics before, now is a good time to learn how your bot was built, how it can move, and start thinking about how you might install your Arduino later. The next step can get complicated, so take your time. You can manually carefully move the parts of the robot arm to play with it. However, do not use excessive force as you may damage the servos.

Stage two: prototyping

What it entails: The next step is to connect one of your servos to the Arduino. You will do this with a layout . A breadboard is a simple tool that allows you to prototype electronic circuits before complete assembly without soldering. Adafruit has a great tutorial that walks you through the steps of connecting a servo directly to the Arduino, as well as adding a potentiometer in later steps that you can use as a knob to manually control movement.

If this paragraph was a little tedious, now is a good time to back up and learn how the layout works. Sparkfun has a great tutorial that explains how to use a breadboard and what you can do with it. Tutsplus has a great guide on how to connect an LED to a power source and add a button. Take some time to put this together and understand the circuit you just put together. Once you understand how electricity flows through a simple circuit, you should be ready to plug in one of your robot’s servos. From personal experience, this part may seem daunting. However, it is not difficult to assemble the parts and follow the instructions. Understanding how it all works is the tricky part, but it takes time.

What You Will Learn: Prototyping is the foundation of electronics prototyping for most hobbyists. If you have followed all of the tutorials above, you will learn how to connect LEDs, buttons, resistors, potentiometers, and servos to a power supply or Arduino. You can already do a lot of fun things with these components. Once you get the basics down, it will be easier for you to develop them by learning about the different types of components, how they work, and how to integrate them into your projects (more on some of the ways to do this in the extensions section below).

Time Required: If you are already familiar with prototyping, connecting the servo should take about five minutes. However , if you’ve never touched electronics before, give yourself a day or two to read the guides above, play around with the different circuits, and get a feel for how they work. I would even suggest taking a week to learn the lessons you’ve learned. The layout diagram is simple, but the concept can be difficult to grasp. And that’s not something you need to rush through, especially considering how difficult the next section can be.

Stage three: programming

What follows from this: once you have everything connected, it’s time to turn it on. To do this, you will need to configure the Arduino IDE and connect to the board. If you would like to use CodeBender like me, you can follow the getting started guide here . In addition, you can follow the guide Adafruit for IDE environment official here .

Once your environment is set up, you will start programming as well. There is a simple sketch of a servo in the Adafruit manual that you can use to get your robot to move. I would suggest using the base servo (the one below) for this, as this is the only one on your robot that can move 180 degrees. You can damage some of the other servos, causing them to go beyond their physical capabilities if you try this sketch with other servos. However, once you understand how this sketch works, you can try modifying it to work with others!

What You Will Learn: This is the stage where it all comes together. You will learn a little about how a servo works and a lot about how to program an Arduino. If you’ve never done any programming before, you can drag the flat pattern sketch into the IDE and it will work, but I would suggest checking out some of our previous tutorials on how to learn to program . The Arduino language is very much the same syntax for C / C ++ and Java, so if you have experience with them, you should feel comfortable. You can also check outthe Arduino reference library here .

Time Required: Even if you have some programming experience, I would suggest taking another weekend to learn how to set up the Arduino IDE. Learning to code is a lifelong skill, so don’t be afraid to work at this stage for several weeks. You can take advantage of this with the included Adafruit Pen Sketch , which will allow you to manually control your robot. Don’t be afraid to screw up. At this point, you can also experiment with some basic logical structures.

Congratulations! You just made a robot

If you’ve been through all of this, then you’ve just acquired a ton of skills in one long project. When I first put together this robot, I found it surprisingly simple, despite the fact that it introduces many complex topics. However, once you get to the end, most electronics projects – like the ones we regularly present – stop looking so scary.

From here, you can start expanding what you have. If you feel like you’ve had a hard time getting it through, try simple additions likeadding an LED to indicate when the engine is spinning or buttons to turn motion on and off. Experiment with the program and see how it reacts. If you mess up some software and flip the servo, you can order a super cheap replacement online .

Build on your knowledge with these expansion projects

You have built a robot. Now what? Well, assuming he didn’t getsapient and try to kill humanity , there are a number of projects you can do that you can build on an existing project piece by piece. We won’t go into details, but we will give you a few links to get you started:

Control multiple servos at the same time

For my build, I ordered this microcontroller that can control up to sixteen servos on its own (which, for those counting at home, would add up to four meArm robots … nice). The kit does not include pre-assembly, which means soldering will be required. You can purchase other controllers like this pre-assembled, but many are more expensive and cheaper. Personally, I think the $ 15 controller is a decent way to practice soldering without risking too much if you mess it up, but if you don’t want to risk it, practice soldering a couple of wires together first. Here are some guides to help you along the way:

Add infrared remote control

Infrared (IR) remote controls are deceptively simple (and can be a handy addition to just about any Arduino project). All you need is a sensor and a remote control . The remote will send codes to your Arduino, which you can then use to run commands. In this case, you can program your robot to start moving, stop, or move to a certain pre-programmed position. There is already a ton of great code that you can use in your projects. For fun, you can even read the codes on the TV remote if you want, for example, to bring your robot to life anytime someone changes the channel. Here are some resources you will need to get started:

Use the Wii Nunchuk to control your death machine

Okay, do you really wanna go crazy? Watch the video above showing the robot arm – the same model you built! – operated by Wii Nunchuk. It uses this adapter adapter (which you can plug your nunchuk into directly) and provides full joystick control, which means you can make it move in any direction you want, like a futuristic puppet. If you’ve reached the point where you’re ready to take on this project using this guide, you’ve probably returned for the tenth time, so welcome back. This is the most advanced add-on we’ve included in this article, so don’t be discouraged if it’s too tough for you. However, this is really cool. Here are some resources for further reading:

As you can see, the robot arm project covers a ton of Arduino hacking concepts and skills. If you can get through this project without getting frustrated or giving up, you can probably tackle most of the Arduino projects we present on a regular basis . Getting started can seem daunting, but if you gradually expand your knowledge and experience, you can create something pretty cool.

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