Page 335 - Robots Androids and Animatrons : 12 Incredible Projects You Can Build

Safety first
Since this is a new product, not too many people may be familiar
with working with pneumatic systems. Therefore, a few safety
guidelines should be followed.
1. Always wear goggles when prototyping a new design.
2. Never connect a plastic PET soda bottle to an air compressor.
3. Never use a glass bottle for air storage.
4. Limit PET bottle size to 1 L (or quart) or less.
5. Do not unscrew the bottle top or pull off an air fitting or valve
when the system is still pressurized. Bleed the system of air first.

Android hand

The construction of a human-type hand, grasping mechanism begins
with a trip to a toy store. The toy needed is called an Awesome Arm,
made by Zima Company in China (see Fig. 16.17). You will need to
purchase two Awesome Arms to get enough fingers. The thumb on
the toy is fixed and cannot be used.
The toy works by allowing the users to use their own fingers to
314 actuate fingers on a robotic hand, something like a hand or arm
extension. We will scavenge the main component out of this toy
to make an inexpensive android hand.
When you turn the arm over, there are five small screws that hold the
hand together. Remove the screws and the arm section will come
apart (see Fig. 16.18). Remove the finger section of the toy (see
Fig. 16.19). Discard the rest of the components. The rectangular
boxes on the finger pulls are where people place their fingers to
use the extension hand. We won’t be needing them, so cut them off
using wire cutters, leaving a long plastic stem.

16.17 Awesome arm manufactured by Zima Company
Team LRN
Chapter sixteen