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Swiss Army Arm (SAA)
The Swiss Army Arm (SAA) is similar to many of the robot arms here on NXTLog in that it fits onto the users arm and performs functions the human arm is not usually capable of. However, what sets the SAA apart from any other robotic arm that I have seen is in what functions it has and how they are attached to the arm. The SAA has a scissors, tweezers, and pliers that, when the corresponding button is pressed, flip out like the tools on a Swiss army knife. Scroll down for more info and pictures.

Tools

The SAA has a total of six tools: scissors, pliers, tweezers, saw, flick-fire missiles, and laser cutter. The tools are attached with beams directly to the motors as shown in the main picture. Pictures of the scissors, tweezers, and pliers can be found in step one above. Scroll down for more info on the pliers. The saw is made of orange Bionicle teeth attached next to the scissors and can be seen in the scissors picture in step one. The laser cutter (small pics 1-3) is a short fiber-optic cable found in some Exo-Force sets that uses the NXT light sensor to illuminate it. The flick-fire missiles are shown in the last picture

Pliers

The claws of the pliers have small tires on them to give them more grip. The pliers are powered by a pneumatic cylinder attached with a long pneumatic hose to a Power Functions comperssor kept in the user's pocket. More info on the compressor in next step.

Compressor

The compressor is operated by hand by flipping the small orange switch. This turns on the motor which pumps the small pump.

Arm holder

The pictures show how the robot attaches to the user's arm. Small picture #2 shows the back arm bracket. You pull the beam at the bottom off of the blue peg, slide your arm in, then put the beam back. The wheel is for comfort as the original bracket dug into you arm and left a LEGO shaped mark an the user's arm. The trigger activates the laser cutter.

Files

Here is the whole program. I did not use any MyBlocks, mini blocks, or anything that did not come with the software. The NXT buttons activate ther tools and the trigger activates the laser cutter. I will try to get a movie but I have been expieriencing problems.

Conclusion

Thanks for reading! If you have any questions, suggestions, or do not understand something please comment. Thanks again! AZ_RobotLab

Comments

16 comments

  • comp/man

  • very good i would suggest making the arm smaller and make the tools pop out without motors and compressed air

  • Posted 1187 days and 0 hours ago


  • Kaos_kid1998

  • Very cool idea you could put it into the new contest. Im in 1-2 days getting a mindstorms kit and unfortunatly i have little or no tecnic beams hopefully i will get some more parts soon.

  • Posted 1186 days and 20 hours ago


  • clustudios

  • really cool 8/10

  • Posted 1186 days and 9 hours ago


  • AZ_RobotLab

  • Thanks for the comments!

    comp/man - The arm really can't go any smaller. The way the tools come out is really cool, I will try to get my video posted soon.

  • Posted 1185 days and 22 hours ago


  • AZ_RobotLab

  • Kaos_kid1998 - I entered it in the competition :). A good way to get more beams is to save up and buy (or get for christmas, birthday, etc.) a big tecnic set then don't build the model and use the parts for your mindstorms. I do this because you get lots of parts and you do not have to pay extra for electronics. I got the cherry picker (no longer availible) I also like the log loader because it comes with pneumatics like the piston I used on the pliers (only they are yellow).

  • Posted 1185 days and 22 hours ago


  • legomylego2

  • By looking at the pictures, I can tell you did a lot of work on this project. But I can also tell that there's nothing that operates the tweezers, scissors, and saw: you need to move them manually. Also, why do you need pliers and tweezers?

  • Posted 1185 days and 2 hours ago


  • sdharmon

  • amazing. can you show us how you built it!

  • Posted 1185 days and 0 hours ago


  • maxdajedi

  • the compressor could pump more air: the pump is made to go all the way to 2 units on each side of the stroke.

  • Posted 1184 days and 5 hours ago


  • mindstormguy732

  • xtremely cool. the laser cutter is just a decoration, right?

  • Posted 1184 days and 4 hours ago


  • AZ_RobotLab

  • legomylego2 - It has those functions because I wanted it to be like a Swiss Army Knife. I did not think of motorizing them and I had already used all three motors.

    sdharmon - Unfortunatly, I alredy took it apart and it was too complex to make an complete LDD. If you want instructions for a specific mechanism (such as the pliers) comment which one and I will try to make it.

  • Posted 1183 days and 22 hours ago


  • NXTlover001

  • I'd like to see a video. When I get the set, I'd like some inspiration from videos I've already downloaded. I think this would be major inspiration, so when you get a video, just post it.

  • Posted 1152 days and 4 hours ago


  • WWJD1324

  • wow!

  • Posted 1087 days and 2 hours ago


  • mindstormmaniac1000

  • I see that you entered in the July round of the technic challenge. You should post your technic creation on the NXTLOG. That is what I am working on for my June entry.

  • Posted 1033 days and 5 hours ago


  • ultrabrick3000

  • you should enter it in the utility bot challenge!

  • Posted 245 days and 7 hours ago


  • 800brie

  • I'm going to make some thing like this for the contest mabye the swiss army leg :D

  • Posted 213 days and 2 hours ago


  • 800brie

  • Are you allowed to ad toys to it like a nerf gun or toy car (Example)

  • Posted 213 days and 2 hours ago


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