We’d be entirely wrong to think that Fichertechnik is just a toy for kids. It’s also perfect for prototyping the control system of robots. [davidatfsg]’s recent entry in the Hackaday Prize, Delta Robot, shows how complex robotics can be implemented without the hardship of having to drill, cut, bolt together or weld components. The added bonus is that the machine can be completely disassembled non-destructively and rebuilt with a new and better design with little or no waste.
The project uses inverse kinematics running on an Arduino Mega to pick coloured objects off a moving conveyor belt and drop them in their respective bins. There’s also also an optical encoder for regulating the speed of the conveyor and a laser light beam for sensing that the object on the conveyor has reached the correct position to be picked.
Not every component is ‘off the shelf’. [davidatfsg] 3D printed a simple nozzle for the actual ‘pick’ and the vacuum required was generated by the clever use of a pair of pneumatic cylinders and solenoid operated air valves.
We’re pretty sure that this will not be the last project on Hackaday that uses Fischertechnik components and it’s the second one that [davidatfsg] has concocted. Videos of the machine working after the break!
Fischer was always so alluring and … incredible but always out of reach. Too expensive and exotic. I had a handful of parts but not enough to build much, also I didn’t quite understand. Lego was easier for me to use.
– Same here – and didn’t even know they were still around… ‘Vex’ makes some interesting kits I picked up for the kids initially (small sets at big-box stores), but had fun with myself. Nice ‘structurally sound’ parts, and if you get up to a ‘Vex IQ’ set, has a 12 channel ‘brain’ with rj11(?) connections to morors/accessories, and a nice wifi remote similar in form to an older playstation. ‘block’ software options for kids, but you can work in ‘near c++’ (personal preference) if wanted. ‘smart’ motors have torque/speed/position/hold/etc options, so motor or servo-style. Anyway, commercial over, and I have no affiliation with Vex; just thought I’d mention, as I’d never heard of them before, and found them to have a nifty not completely overpriced robotics set.
I was a fanatical lego user, vaguely aware of Fischer, but like you said, always out of reach. Same was true of technical lego and I’m not sure why me and my brother did not progress onto this. Probably because our mother / grandmother did not understand it. It was also extremely expensive at the time. That said – I’ve just bought my 11 year old niece a lego Mindstorms kit, but don’t tell her as it’s supposed to be a surprise!