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3D printed 6 axis robot
3D Printing & Controlling a 6-axis Robotic Arm
Not long ago, GoEngineer acquired the RBX1 (Remix) 6-axis robotic arm. Manufacturing Applications Manager, Tyler Reid, purchased the kit to show the capabilities of our Stratasys 3D printers. After adding some GoEngineer flare to the arm, he 3D printed the pieces and I volunteered to assemble it.
As I embarked on the assembly of the arm, it became increasingly apparent that the designer of the arm had never assembled it nor considered assembly ramifications while designing the arm. In multiple critical pieces (such as the shoulder and forearm pieces, the hardware supplied did not fit their designated slots and cavities.
Let’s Dive In
For example, in the forearm, a stepper motor is enclosed between two printed parts to provide an axial rotation. The stepper motor shaft was a diameter of 4mm. The goal was to use a coupler to connect the 4mm shaft to an 8mm shaft that would connect to the wrist assembly. The coupler did not fit in the designated slot, and as a result, the forearm pieces had to be reprinted.
After the pieces were printed with the correct dimensions, I connected the two shafts and the coupler. After attaching the pieces, I ran into another problem. The gap between the forearm piece and the wrist was almost ½” and was quite unsightly. I disassembled the pieces and used my own die grinder to cut the 4mm stepper motor shaft and the 8mm shaft down so the forearm and write assemblies could fit flush together.
Off to Home Depot
The hardware kit that was supplied was also frustratingly disorganized and incomplete. I was required to make multiple trips to Home Depot to obtain M5 nuts and thermal inserts because the hardware kit contained 40+ M5 bolts, only two nuts, and not enough M4 thermal inserts that the instructions called for.
The instructions for the assembly and wiring of the arm were also painfully lacking. For some very complicated steps, the instructions simply stated, “attach shoulder to body.
” This required me to go to Home Depot, purchase additional hardware that was missing, modify the way the pieces were to attach and guess and check which length of bolts to use. There were fewer instructions included to assemble and use this 3D-printed, 6-axis robotic arm than there are to assemble an IKEA bookshelf.
Regardless, I completed the assembly of the arm and was ready to connect the electrical components. The arm kit came supplied with a Raspberry Pi and a SlushEngine Model: D stepper motor control board. I had to google instructions on how to install Raspbian on a flash drive, interface with the Raspberry Pi, install Python to control the steppers, and get the arm up and going because the instructions were so poor. Fortunately, Dr. D-Flo’s channel on YouTube helped guide me through some common pitfalls and incorporate some good ideas.
IT’S….. ALIIIIIIVE!!!!!
The RBX1’s default logic control is creating waypoints using a USB Xbox 360 controller. One simply uses the controller to move the stepper motors to a set position, create a point, repeat, save, and then run the program.
More complex and sophisticated control logic can be used to control the arm. But, as far as my responsibilities are concerned, a simple proof-of-concept will suffice for the scope of this project.
Now that the arm is assembled and moving, I have graciously relieved my ownership to a friend at GoEngineer who specializes in mechatronics and AI programming. He can add upgrades, improve the control logic, and hopefully use the arm for more useful tasks than bending over and touching the ground. Nevertheless, the project was a rewarding and gratifying endeavor. I cannot express enough my satisfaction of fighting through all the assembly, wiring, and programming steps and seeing the arm move by manipulating the Xbox controller. I highly recommend 3D printing assembly kits for those interested in an introduction to robotics and/or 3D printing and electrical projects.
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Ecole des Mines d'Alès’ 3D printed 6-axis robot arm
Jul 15, 2022
We are two teachers that have been teaching Industrial Engineering Sciences for around 20 years.
After a few years in the Paris region, we landed in the Montpellier Academy, at Albert Einstein high school in Bagnols-sur-Cèze. Since October 2017, we’ve also been teaching Robotics at the Ecole des Mines d’Alès to future Mechatronics engineers.
When we arrived at the Ecole des Mines d’Alès, we were provided with two 6-axis industrial robotic arms of the UR5 type (Universal Robots) to ensure our practical work in Robotics.
After the wonder of such a big investment (of around 40.000 €), we noticed quite quickly that our engineering students were bored! After a few hours of use, the students came to the realization that they could not modify the control of these industrial arms and thus test the results of their calculations.
The main thought running through our minds was: “How can we position practice at the heart of teaching robotics when the cost of acquiring an industrial arm is several tens of thousands of euros?”.
And so, in 2018, we then made the decision to design our own articulated arm and its control. Alongside a number of innovative projects to keep students engaged, we made it our mission to keep our students engaged.
At first, we considered buying educational arms manufactured by the French company Nyrio, but we weren’t sure we could modify the order. In addition, the dimensions and the “toy” aspect put us off. Above all, we wanted to have complete control over the mechanical and control parts of our arm so that they could evolve according to the needs of the users: our students. Subsequently, we relied on BCN3D’s open source MOVEO to develop our arm.
Getting into 3D printingThe creation of the arm was made possible by 3D printing. Firstly, with the use of CAD software, SolidWorks, which seemed obvious to us! It allowed us to make the arm very modular and adaptable to the need and to make it evolve according to the technical constraints and the feedback from the users.
To allow our students to work in a practical and concrete way on a robotic arm, we had to multiply these arms and accept the risk of breakage. 3D printing was the clear solution!
3D printing (FDM) with the printers in our workshop allowed us to easily and quickly make a prototype and validate the feasibility of this project.
We would like the manufacture of the arm to be accessible to everyone. The use of PLA strongly limits the cost of the material (less than 25 €/kg) and the purchase price of the 3D printer (from 200 €).
Also, the reduced manufacturing cost of this arm allows the purchase of several arms for a low cost and allows our students to have easily at their disposal a 6-axis articulated arm and its control.
The parts, including those 3D printed, are then assembled and motorized by the students themselves.
Operating the armThe use of Scilab to control the six joints of our arm allows each user to have access to the control of the arm in a simple and fully programmable computing environment.
Scilab, the free and open source equivalent of Matlab, is distributed under the GNU GPL.
In order to move towards more sustainable development, we have chosen to source our 3D printing filament from a French manufacturer Francofil.
NowadaysIn 2022, the headmaster of the Lycée A. Einstein High School, Mr. Feutry, entrusted us with the realization of the first series of four arms to make them available to the different teaching sections of the technical and professional high school.
After the purchase of the first series of arms by the Ecole des Mines d’Alès, each engineering student can work in a practical way on a robotic arm. Future engineers can thus test their calculations in practice and immediately see the effect of their modifications on the arm’s behavior.
The arm has transformed the way the students work and keeps both the students and teachers on their toes. Learning apace with the students, teachers too need to stay updated on the latest innovations in robotics.
We’ve established partnerships with other schools, to provide the robot arm at a cost price. In exchange, high schools test out the arm with their pupils and provide us with feedback.
Our long-term objective is to offer this arm as an open-source tool so that each student and teacher can build their own arm.
What we can look forward toFrom the very beginning of this project of mixing mechatronics with 3D printing, we were certain that this project could put practice back at the heart of the teaching of robotics, regardless of the age or level of our students.
We are therefore looking for partners to contribute to the evolution of this arm, develop activities around it and fulfill its potential across both training centers and industrial-level companies. We’re confident that its accessibility, low acquisition cost, modular use of 3D printing, and open and configurable control system will act in our favor. Not only that, but it is modular through the use of 3D printing and an open and configurable control system.
We want to make robotics accessible to all!
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