Building the MeArm Robotic Arm

Accompanying Article at https://dbot.ws/asmearm

Note - Don't make the same error that I did - TAKE THE PLASTIC COATING OFF FIRST!

The MeArm is a small robot arm that was originally designed as a teaching device for schoolchildren. Despite its toy-like appearance, it is also an excellent tool for serious robotics experimenters who would like to develop software and control systems for robotic arms without a large hardware expenditure.

MeArm is an open-source hardware project, making the design freely available to anyone. Over 10,000 MeArms have already been built by people around the world.

In this LONG video, I will construct the MeArm using the MeArm Kit. I will take you step-by-step through the construction, including using an Arduino Uno to calibrate and control the MeArm servo motors. In other videos in the series I’ll design and construct an advanced controller for the MeArm.

If you are building (or are considering building) your own MeArm you will find this video useful, especially as the MeArm assembly manual has a few errors that caused me grief that you’ll want to avoid. I even make a HUGE mistake right from the beginning (didn’t remove the protective covering from the acrylic components) that you definitely don’t want to repeat!

Again this is a long video but in order to illustrate the 52 steps required to assemble a MeArm I really had no choice. I hope you find it useful and that it inspires you to build your own MeArm robotics arm.

Here is a breakdown of the video for those of you who need to skip to a specific section (the “step numbers” are as listed in the MeArm Arduino Assembly Manual):

00:00 - Introduction
01:30 - MeArm Kit Contents
05:26 - MeArm Servo Calibration
11:19 - MeArm Steps 1-3
12:16 - MeArm Steps 5-8 (I missed step 4!)
13:15 - MeArm Steps 10-11 (there is no step 9)
14:08 - MeArm Step 12
14:54 - MeArm Steps 13-14
15:18 - MeArm Step 15
15:32 - MeArm Steps 16-17
16:28 - MeArm Step 18
16:50 - MeArm Steps 19 - 21
17:41 - MeArm Step 23 (step 22 is not shown)
18:19 - MeArm Steps 24-25
19:02 - MeArm Step 26
19:41 - MeArm Step 27
20:28 - MeArm Step 28
21:27 - MeArm Step 29
22:49 - MeArm Step 30
23:32 - MeArm Step 31
24:43 - MeArm Step 32
25:15 - MeArm Step 33
25:46 - MeArm Step 35 (step 34 is not shown)
26:51 - MeArm Steps 36 - 37 SNAFU!
28:36 - Correction for Steps 36 -37 SNAFU2!
28:50 - MeArm Steps 38 - 40
31:05 - MeArm Steps 41 - 44
32:41 - MeArm Step 45
33:52 - MeArm Step 46
34:59 - MeArm Step 47
35:28 - MeArm Step 48
36:46 - MeArm Steps 49 - 51
38:31 - MeArm Step 4 (missing from beginning)
38:50 - MeArm Step 52
39:20 - MeArm MAJOR ERROR
44:05 - MeArm Conclusion and demo

For a complete guide see the corresponding article at https://dbot.ws/mearm01