Picker Bot - 5-axis robotic arm

thingiverse

Picker bot - 5‐axis robotic armThe Picker bot was intended to serve as an affordable desktop robotic arm, capable of simple, repeating tasks and manual control. Using cheap, easily available control boards and motors, price is kept to a minimum for this size of unit. Ultra quiet drivers ensure the operation of the arm doesn’t become a nuisance in ay room or setting.Additional sensors and equipment could be used in combination with this arm to create a more complicated system. The control board used in this model is limited by its nature and does not have some of the more powerful features of larger machines, but this machine could easily be adapted to a variety of controllers and operating systems.The goal of this unit was to be able to reach roughly arm’s length and be able to manipulate objects about 2 to 3 pounds in weight as needed. Using belt reduction, stepper drivers gear reduction, and high torque servos, this design easily delivers the required capability. 5 axis of operation, along with the gripper, allow for easy manipulation of the arms surroundings. The wrist of the gripper can rotate 720 degrees and all of the other joints can move 270 degrees. Control is made using a remote control pendant, the built in screen, or by plugging into a PC. Movements can be recorded by the system and then replayed, allowing complicated and time consuming tasks to be repeated again and again with accuracy.The included operating system (marlin) works well for basic use but has room for improvement. Feel free to use this as a basic starting point to be improved upon as needed for your applications. The gripper system can also be replaced as needed with additional equipment. All 5 axis can be homed with the stock os. Standard gcode is also used, with the axis labeled as X, Y, Z, A, and B.The arm sides and base boards are intended to be cut from 1/2 and 1/4 in baltic birch plywood but the files are included as stl's to be 3d printed if desired. I'd recommend printing these at 100% if you go that direction. GT2 belts are used as the power transmission system and zip ties are the belt tensioning mechanic. These keeps the system as simple as possible while still being tough enough for whatever is needed.A parts list, assembly photos, and wiring diagrams are included in the downloadable files. The control board is ramps 1.4 using tmc2208 drivers for silent operation.The code for the servo control module and the pendant are in the downloadable files. The Marlin configuration can't be uploaded here on thingiverse so I've uploaded it to Github: https://github.com/Clifftopdesigns/Marlin-2.1.2.1-Picker-edit