In this instructable I gonna try to describe how to make a robotic arm with parts from a printer, and control it using a NES gamepad.
It may look like a hard work but I have prepared templates for all the parts and I try to take pictures for all the angles in order to make it simple.
Also it is a really cheap robot, most of the parts come from a dead printer.
I used two PIC16F628A microcontrollers because only one was not enough for all the motors, they are pretty cheap and easy to get instead of a PIC with more pins.

Age group: only me:18+.

Step 1: Tools and materials

Not many tools are required, a rotary tool is perfect for cut the metal and the plastic, also if you have a driller it could help with all the holes that you have to do.
For the electronics boards you will need a 30w soldering iron.

Most of the stuff come fron a dead printer HP660, other models of the printer like the HP670 are almost the same and will be fine. The things you must take from the printer are detailed in the next step.
For controlling the robot I use a regular Nintendo Entertainment System gamepad, it is not an original gamepad, any kind will work, and it is not hacked at all, you won't need to modify it to work with the robot.
From another printer you need the stepper motor that is attached to the belt, because the HP printer use a DC motor for this and they are harder to control.
Three plastic gears are required, two of the same size and one smaller.
The servo in the hand was broken so y took the wires directly from the motor and control it as a regular dc motor.
A block of plumb for using as counterweight, if you cant get one of these you can replace it with any other heavy thing.
Electronic stuff for the boards are detailed in step 11.
Wood: one piece of 54x16 cm, one piece of 11x11 cm and four pieces of  2x3 cm.
Aluminium: one bar of 8 cm and one bar of 20cm
<p><strong>Age group: </strong>only me:18+....LOL. Great Job..I love the added NES gamepad..oldscool :-)</p>
Whoa man! Pretty awesome 'ible! <br>Congratulations!
I couldn't understand how does the belt move the arm horizontal, can you explain it or at least provide a picture??
Hey... please, answer me =)<br>Im have around 3 months trying to make to work this project and it doesnt... =/<br>Thanks.
Hey I have a Q... where is the 100uF Cap in the board draw? jeje Thanks, it's helping me a lot!
what its the schematic diagram???
how much weight need the counterweight, or it didn't care???
how you make the card, where you found all the pices or they come in the printer card, did you speak spa&ntilde;ish????
hi men can you make a video teaching how program whit winpic becos i will do the arm but i am new in this so i dont understand how program ir, ehat i need to conect to the pc or what?????
in the last photo the rectangles are of plastic???? <br>
yes, they are
hi men i like it, but of where you get the rectangle pices of metal that you weld, the one of the first photo????
it is used to hold the glass inside some windows
This takes Jenga to a whole different level.
why did you use stepper motors? I think standard DC motors would have worked fine.
Where is your robotic arm controlled by an NES game pad?........ Oh that's why
hello to whoever has finished this project/ i need help. i need to find the NES controller conector or what ever it is. please if anyone knows where i can get it reply to this comment or message me.asap
Go to ebay.com
You must be great at video games etc<br>
How did you add the pdf and the other files please reply!!!!
pretty cool :D
me to i'm 14 and six days and i also want to build it. but i only have one tiny little problem is that the computer i have doesn't want to upload any hex file to any of my micro-controllers i have an already setup programmer i bought for 10.99$ and i made my own but the problem is in the computer i tried several computers and programming soft-wares but there is a hex file that when i load it to ic-prog it tells me that the file doesn't have a device id value and i don't understand what that means. <a href="http://download450.mediafire.com/ym7tmiriikyg/zndmzgdzhjm/simple+binary+clock.rar">here</a> is the file. PM me if you corrected the file and send it to me it is meant for PIC16f84a. it is from this <a href="https://www.instructables.com/id/Smallest-Binary-Clock/">instructable</a>.thanks please reply soon.<br>
Dear Sir.<br>Please Upload the circuit diagram.<br><br>Thanks.
please tell me the length of side stepper motor holder case???
i want download pdf
ha ha well done.
so......the yellow buttons aren't hooked up to turbo yet?
awesome !!!<br>its will be more cool, if the arm can spin, ,, ^_^
Um you could replace the hand with a laser and use it for a custom basic laser cutter
It would have to be very powerful
Ye I Know Im Not As Dumb As U
So if you know the same thing as me then you must be as dumb as me?
no i mean i know more then u
i kmow what yiu mean but you didnt word it properly
Do you think an HP855 would work? If not do you have any ideas were i can get a HP660 or something close?
This is Amazing!! Well done!
This is freaking awesome man. Great job.
Wow this is awesome. Great instructable!<br>
Muy bueno como siempre Bruno :P
Felicitaciones.<br>Tenes disponible el codigo en c del proyecto?<br>Estoy aprendiendo sobre los micros.
realy cool, nice toy , thanks for your instructable
I noticed your NES controller has two extra buttons. What are they used for?<br><br>Great instructable, by the way. I hope to be able to follow it one day when I get a bit more free time.
My guess is that it's a third party controller, and that those are turbo buttons.<br><br>(see picture 5, step 1)
Maybe I'm missing something but the main.hex seems to be missing. Could you also make available the source code the hex file was generated from.
can i pay you to buy one from you
I'm really digging this project. You have some great re-use going on here.
Hey, great instructable! Do you know if this can pick up the weight of a d-cell battery? I am on the science olympiad team at school. I think that your design would work great if it can lift the weight. I think that it is a shame that most people just use vex kits that cost hundreds of dollars. I think that the true spirit of the robot ramble event is supposed to be robots like this. I have a few dead printers and dont have anything do do with them. I will probably make this even if we dont use it for science olympiad.
The gripper is stronger if you keep the close button pressed, also you can add sugru or something like that to the &quot;fingers&quot; and you will able to pick up the battery.<br> Regards, Bruno.<br>

About This Instructable




Bio: Robots and video games...
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