Multi-tasking robot of your dreams? Desktop automation from MakerArm
This low-cost robotic arm is a multitasking marvel on a desktop scale – using countless interchangeable heads to mill, 3D print, carve and engrave its way through your workload.
The MakerArm is also capable of picks and place organisation and assembly, and can even ice a cake, all for under £1,000 as it looks to simplify the automation process for desktop fabrication.
Based in Austin, Texas, its creators Zaib Husain and Azam Shahani have partnered with Dragon Innovation, the development company behind big name hardware start-ups such as iRobot, Pebble, and Makerbot to bring the robot to Kickstarter.
You can also add custom tool heads, with a special hardware development kit to allow owners to create their own custom tool heads.
Attaching the current range is straightforward – sliding the tool head of choice onto the arm, locking it in place with a screw-on end cap and snap-fit connectors.
The MakerArm’s simplicity continues with the software. The Makerarm.io software has an easy to get-to-grips-with user interface, which detects which tool head is attached and only displays options and information relevant to that particular functionality.
The arm is also compatible with standard CAD/CAM and tool path generation software, while the Kickstarter launch package includes a one-year commercial subscription to Autodesk Fusion 360.
You can back the MakerArm here.
