Introduction:
Meet Ivan Miranda, a guy with a fantastic dream: he wants to create a colossal 3D-printed robot that he can ride like something straight out of a sci-fi flick. That’s right, he’s after a real-life mech! But, let’s face it, that’s no easy feat. It’s a colossal project that’ll consume heaps of time and cash. So, what’s Ivan up to right now? Well, he’s starting small, testing the waters by focusing on one crucial part of the entire robot: a gigantic 3D-printed robotic hand.
The Gigantic Robotic Hand:
Now, Ivan didn’t just randomly design this hand. He made it big, just like it would need to be for a colossal rideable mech. But hold on, he hasn’t gone all out just yet. Right now, he’s only got this one massive hand to show off. Why? Well, it’s like a test run, a way to see if his grand idea can work before he goes all-in on the big project.
Inside the Robotic Hand:
So, what’s the deal with this robotic hand? First off, it’s mostly made from 3D-printed parts. Ivan went all out on the details – it’s got four fingers and a thumb, and each of them has three joints, just like your own human hand. The material he used is mostly a rigid thing called PLA, but he’s added some bits made of a flexible material called TPU to give it a good grip.
The Magic of Movement:
Now, here’s where it gets really interesting – the hand doesn’t just sit there looking cool; it can move. All those joints I mentioned earlier, well, they’re powered by something called servos. There are 15 of these servos in total, and most of them are pretty strong, with 11kg-cm of torque. But the base of each finger is even beefier, boasting a more powerful servo with 25kg-cm of torque. It’s like having a strong grip on things!
The Brain Behind the Hand:
To make all those servos move in just the right way, Ivan’s using an Arduino Mega 2560. It sends signals to the servos using something called pulse-width modulation (PWM). And, of course, it’s gotta get power from somewhere. In this case, it’s not the Arduino supplying the juice; it’s coming straight from a power supply.
Testing and Challenges:
So, how’s it doing in testing? Well, it’s working pretty darn well. The hand can move, and it can grip onto some pretty hefty objects. There’s just one little hiccup – the belts sometimes slip, and Ivan needs to swap them out for ones that don’t stretch. But hey, that’s the kind of thing you learn during testing.
Conclusion:
As for the big question – will Ivan Miranda ever complete the entire mech? We don’t know for sure, but we’re certainly rooting for him! Building a rideable robot sounds like a dream come true for any sci-fi enthusiast. So here’s hoping Ivan keeps making progress and eventually rides off into the future on his very own mechanical masterpiece.
Source: Youtube
