Interchangeable Arms Platform

This Instructable details how to build a separate platform for the easy interchange of robotic arms. If you are interested in building any of the arms please check out the Hand, Claw, and Tentacle here!

The platform is basically just a cup that you can stick your hand into with the uC32 board and a breadboard mounted on board so as to keep the electronics separate from the actual arms. That way you only have to build the main circuit once and then each time you attach a different appendage you simply plug it into the servo and or sensors!

To build the platform on which you mount the electroincs, you need:

Disposable cup

Cardboard

2 zUNO clips

Duct tape

Hot glue

The actual wiring of the electronics is discussed in this Instructable!

To start, cut the cardboard as shown in the second picture. Then wrap it around the cup and tape it in place.

Now take your zUNO clips and mount them on the sides and the front "lip" of the cardboard. To get these to stay I would suggest hot gluing them into place then reinforcing with a strip of duct tape. Then hot glue a small breadboard to the opposite side so the weight distribution is even and you have somewhere to eventually build your circuit.

Once you have added the clips you are basically done! All that is left is for you to clip in the uC32 or other microcontroller, and wire up your circuit. It is usually just a servo and possibly some sensors but details on how to do this can be found here. Once that is all complete you are ready to mount the different appendages. The basic idea behind the mounting is since the zUNO clips are designed to be able to hold a chipKIT/Arduino sized board, if you cut a piece of stiff cardboard or wood to the same dimension across (roughly 3 inches) you can stick your dummy board onto each appendage and use it to quickly clip in different arms.