This gargantuan 3D-printed robotic hand is only the start

Ivan Miranda has a humble dream: he desires to construct an enormous 3D-printed robotic that he can journey upon. In different phrases, he desires a mech. However that’s clearly a really difficult mission that can take an unimaginable quantity of money and time. So he determined to check the waters with one piece of the mech: an enormous 3D-printed robotic hand.

Miranda designed this robotic hand on the scale obligatory for an unlimited rideable mech, however he has solely constructed the one hand at this level. This let him take a look at the thought earlier than leaping into the deep finish with the complete mission. The construction and many of the mechanical parts have been 3D-printed. It has 4 fingers and a thumb, every with three joints (like an actual human hand). It’s largely inflexible PLA, however there are some versatile TPU components that add grip.

Servos actuate all 15 of these joints. Most of them have 11kg-cm of torque, however the base of every finger has a extra highly effective servo with 25kg-cm of torque. An Arduino Mega 2560 controls all the servo motors with pulse-width modulation (PWM) indicators. Energy, in fact, comes immediately from the facility provide and never the Arduino.

In testing, the hand appears to work fairly properly. It will probably transfer and grip giant objects, although the belts do slip and must be changed with a kind that may’t stretch. We’re undecided if Miranda will full the complete mech, however we certain hope that he does!