In this tutorial, I will show you how to make a robotic arm with Arduino that is controlled with knobs like a crane is being controlled by levers.
Previously, I made a tutorial, where I showed how to design an autonomous robotic arm with Arduino.
I made the previous robotic arm with wooden material, however, I made this one with acrylic material. The parts can be purchased from Amazon or AliExpress.
Materials for making Robotic arm with Arduino
1 Acrylic robotic arm kit
4 Potentiometers
5 volts 5 Amperes power supply
The guide on how to connect the parts can be downloaded below.
Once you’ve connected the parts accurately, it should look like the images bellow:
Circuit diagram for making robotic arm with Arduino
When you have made the connection, it would have a setup like the one shown below:
Arduino code for making robotic arm with Arduino
#include <Servo.h>
Servo myservo1;
Servo myservo2;
Servo myservo3;
Servo myservo4;
int potpin1 = A1;
int potpin2 = A2;
int potpin3 = A3;
int potpin4 = A4;
int val1;
int val2;
int val3;
int val4;
void setup()
{
myservo1.attach(8);
myservo2.attach(9);
myservo3.attach(10);
myservo4.attach(11);
}
void loop()
{
val1 = analogRead(potpin1);
val1 = map(val1, 0, 1023, 0, 180);
myservo1.write(val1);
delay(15);
val2 = analogRead(potpin2);
val2 = map(val2, 0, 1023, 0, 180);
myservo2.write(val2);
delay(15);
val3 = analogRead(potpin3);
val3 = map(val3, 0, 1023, 0, 180);
myservo3.write(val3);
delay(15);
val4 = analogRead(potpin4);
val4 = map(val4, 0, 1023, 0, 180);
myservo4.write(val4);
delay(15);
}
Suggested reading
To make this robotic arm requires the use of servo motors, and it will be an added advantage if you know what a servo motor is, and how it is used.
What is a Servo Motor?
A servo motor is a self-contained sophisticated electromechanical device that rotates parts of a machine or robot with high efficiency and great accuracy. A servo motor can move slowly and at the same time deliver large torque with great precision and accuracy. This is the reason why it is utilized in robot design, industrial automation, control surface positioning in remote control vehicles, etc.
What servo motors are used for
Above, we stated that servo motors are utilized in robot design, industrial automation, etc. a servo motor is utilized in so many devices and systems, and the list is as follows:
- Radio-controlled model car, airplane, or helicopter,
- Rotating a shaft connected to the engine throttle.
- Regulates the speed of a fuel-powered car or aircraft.
- Electronic devices such as DVD and Blu-ray Disc players use servos to extend or retract the disc trays.
- In autonomous cars, servos manage the car’s speed. The list goes on. In robots servo motor is an indispensable component.
To learn more about what a servo motor is and how to use a servo motor, check my tutorial on that and on other related topics.
Further reading
Check out these other interesting tutorials
Proteus simulation
Arduino tutorials
Electronics tutorials
