Wednesday, February 20, 2013

A gift from the dumpster!

A few weeks ago, my friend Dr. Djaffer Ibaroudene asked me if I wanted a robotic arm!  I, of course, said yes.  It turns out that the arm was surplus equipment from a lab at St. Mary's University here in San Antonio, and Djaffer had rescued it from the trash heap.

The robot came without much identification (no manufacturer's plate, no owner's manual).  However, the motors have nameplates and their manufacturer is still in business, so I should be able to get what I need from the Internet.  This robot has 6 motors and a nice gripper.  Each motor has a position encoder and gearbox, and there is a limit switch for each degree of freedom.  Motors are 12 volts.  Power and signals are carried by 26 gauge wires to a 50-pin D connector.

I have not applied power to any part of the arm, because there's still information I need.

For size reference, here's a photo of my grandson Christopher interacting with the robot.

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