Claw Machine

The Claw Machine project (affectionately titled TOA or Talons of Acquisition) was created during the fall semester of 2020 when Robotics and Automation members were only able to participate virtually due to the lockdown. As head of the Demobots team I wanted to come up with a new project that members could work on digitally, so I came up with the idea of creating a claw machine to bring along with the organization for volunteer events and outreach. UT RAS participates in 4 or 5 outreach events each year with hundreds of Austin elementary, middle, and high school students.

As the head of Demobots and mechanical lead for TOA, I made sure the primary focus of the committee while on lockdown was creating digital files such as CAD documents, laser cut files, and code to lay the groundwork for when we came back in person this fall. The claw machine design is very similar to a 3D printer gantry system, with stepper motors moving the claw in the x-y direction.

My favorite part of this project so far has been designing the "claw" mechanism and how it will be deployed to pick up an item in the "toy area." The design I came up with features two main parts, a vertical winch setup that functions as a spool with the claw attached to the end that can lower and raise the claw by using a servo to wind the spool up or down.

The claw itself consists of three "talons" that were designed to easily grasp the plastic capsules in the toy area. These three talons are attached to the base of the triangular claw body and held in the open position by springs, a cable attached to each talon can be pulled by a servo, closing the talons.

Now that Demobots is able to meet in person all of these digital files are being cut and printed (or in the case of code, implemented on an Arduino). I will keep our most recent progress updated in the pictures below!

View the Git-hub: https://bit.ly/TOAgit