Robotic Arm Edge | No Soldering Required | Extensive Range of Motion on All Pivot Points

The Robotic Arm Edge was one of our 10 year old son's top five Christmas requests. In the end it proved to be a great pick. He spent approximately 4 hours from start to finish to complete the project, with some guidance along the way from Dad. Once it was finished however, it did not work and he was discouraged. By then it was late and we were all tired, so we put it aside for evening.The next evening we went back to the troubleshooting page and read over the reviews here at Amazon to give us some clues about what the trouble might be. We also tested the wires and motors independently, one at a time, using a 9-volt battery and two wires to create a circuit with each motor. We knew that all of the connections were good because the motors and gears worked properly when powered by the nine volt battery.We then checked the battery terminals. We discovered they were not bent and positioned down properly. Once the terminal placements were corrected, we were able to get some partial movement with the control box levers, but only in one direction. We removed the top of the control box and 'warmed up' the metal plates by pressing each of them down manually in each direction with our fingers, to ensure they were making contact with the circuit board, and the robotic arm's mobility greatly improved. (You may have to repeat this step occasionally to maintain full mobility, double check wire connections, and make sure that the wires are not being crimped, tangled or pulled out of position by the movement of the arm. The wire clips are very helpful when placed correctly for this reason). The movement specs* from the manual are as follows:Gripper: 0-1.77"Wrist motion: 120 degreesElbow motion: 300 deg.Base motion: 180 deg.Base rotation: 270 deg.Search light: on when on switch is on.*We found these measurements to be pretty accurate.Finally, we smoothed off a few plastic 'burrs' that were catching as the robotic arm spun on it's base, untangled and repositioned a few wires to keep them from tugging and pulling out of their connectors as the arm revolved, screwed the control box back together, and Oila! The robotic arm now works beautifully, LED light and all.Our son declared, "I am Satisfied!" with a huge grin and a sigh of relief :) It was great outcome to a slightly challenging project. The gearboxes were a bit taxing to put together from a 10 year old's perspective, but he stuck with it, even though it was a initially frustrating. After putting together several of the gearboxes he was a pro. We encouraged him to take his time and read the instructions thoroughly to become familiar with the concept and sequence of steps before he began, and we think that really helped to make the project go much smoother for him than it might have otherwise.One precaution: If you hear clicking noises as you move the robotic arm with the controls, that means to stop and go back in the other direction! We have explained that it is important NOT to try to manually force the arm to move in one direction or another, or the gears may break! You may also be trying to lift too much, depending on where the center of gravity is in relation to the weight of the object. Because of the plastic gears and other components, it is a TOY more than it is a tool.Our son is looking forward to using the 'RAE' to assist him in other building kits, such as legos, kinex, and maybe another similar robotic project. The best lesson that came out of this for us was that putting our heads together and combining our knowledge, skills with a little perseverence kept us from giving up on it and assuming there was something defective about the kit. We worked backward and retraced our steps, and it was a great success. What could be better than learning and having lots of fun in the process? :)I am writing this review because we were helped greatly by the informative reviews already posted here, and I hope that what we learned along the way can help someone else, incase they get stuck a bit as we did. It's worth it to press on and find solutions to problems, and our son is enjoying the fruits of his labor and is all smiles now :) The stars were his review of this product.

The robotic arm didn't take long to build. It is an excellent robotic's project. The instruction manual is very well put together and very easy to follow. I didn't have any hitches at all. The robotic arm worked perfectly at completion. If you build this project follow all the suggestions in the instructional manual. I also suggest obtaining the small wax bathroom cups to sort all the parts in before beginning to build. Otherwise you may end up like others have mentioned,having the wrong screws in some areas. I found that trick very helpful. Do get a fine tooth file and file off the left over plastic from parts. It helps it work smoother and makes it look better. I had no problem with the control box as some have had. It went together easily and works perfectly. Thinking and taking care while construction and wiring is the secret to success. I also purchased the USB Interface Kit for the robotic arm. The part that the controller fits into is replaced with one that has a power switch and a USB connection. That way the robotic arm can be operated and tested via computer. I also purchased the OWI-535 Curriculum containing exercises and experiments that are for individual use, in a school or in a home school. These also use the USB interface. I plan on using the curriculum with my grandson in our weekly robotics class on SKYPE. I highly recommend the robotic arm to any experienced kit builder to learn how industrial robots work. An inexperienced builder can assemble it but experience building electronic type kits definitely helps constructing it yourself or aiding a child in building it. It is recommended for 14 year olds and up but 11 to 12 year olds could build it if they are experienced builders and have handled a few tools. Again I highly recommend reading all of the introductory material in the manual and work slowly following all instructions carefully. I wanted to add that I demonstrated the Robotic Arm Edge for my 9 year old grandson tonight (Jan 5th) on SKYPE and he loved it and wants one. I will most likely get him one but will want to build it with him. The person that suggested pre-building the motor/gear boxes and then assembling sounds good but he would miss out on seeing the motors and gears.

If this is for a child it is best if they can read and follow detailed directions- And have the patience to work for a couple of days- With an adult. There are 6 different kinds of little screws, most of which look similar to the untrained eye. If multiple bags of screws are open at the same time and screws are mixed, all is lost. There are 4 motor pods to be assembled with small nuts positioned but not held during assembly. After 3 or 4 tries I got gel crazy glue and stuck all 4 nuts on each of 4 pods in place.The Phillips screwdriver has to have a 3/16 diameter shaft, 1/4 inch will not fit. As others have said, long nose pliers and flush side cutters help a lot. I had to exert a lot of force with the long nose pliers to get steel shafts into the plastic sockets.The other parts fit together ok but for some reason I was short 1 screw of a certain type ( maybe lost) and I cut the length of a larger screw to fit.Context- I was originally going to get a hydraulic crane for about the same price because I thought it would be more educational. There was an objection that it might result in water spills in a fancy house. At this point The hydraulic one would have been a better choice, both because the child could enjoy it sooner, and because it would be more educational.