3D Printed Robot Arm Built For Learning Purposes

James Gullberg built a six-degree-of-freedom robot arm primarily from 3D printed parts as a hands-on learning project. The design explores multiple joint and reducer types including planetary gear drives, split-ring planetary gearboxes with integrated magnetic encoders, and an inverted belt differential wrist. An STM32 microcontroller handles encoders, PID control loops, and motor step generation, communicating with a Raspberry Pi over CAN bus. The Raspberry Pi is planned to run a ROS 2 software stack for higher-level control. The project demonstrates how building physical hardware teaches control theory, motion planning, and mechanical design far more effectively than simulation alone.