Design and Fabrication of a 6-DOF Articulated Robotic Arm for Research and Educational Applications

Robotics has become increasingly integral to modern life and industrial production, making hands-on experience with physical models essential for students of automation. This paper details the mechanical design and fabrication of a low-cost 6-DOF articulated robotic arm, specifically developed for university-level educational and research applications. The mechanical structure was developed using SolidWorks software and verified through Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to ensure structural rigidity. FEA simulations showed a maximum stress of 0.3095 MPa at the connection between Link 3 and Link 4, confirming the structural integrity of the design under applied loads without failure. The robotic arm offers a maximum reach of 1.045 m, and a horizontal stroke of 0.775 m. Kinematic parameters were directly derived from the mechanical design drawings, supporting both forward and inverse kinematic analyses. A prototype was fabricated using CNC machining to validate the feasibility of the mechanical design. Experimental evaluation for pick-and-place tasks demonstrated acceptable accuracy and repeatability at low and medium speeds, with an average deviation of approximately ±0.5 mm. When operating with a 1 kg load, Joint 5 exhibited a significant increase in tracking error to 10.455x10-3 rad, compared to 5.027x10-3 rad without a load. Despite good stability, current limitations include low operating speed and restricted payload capacity, with noticeable vibration under heavier loads, suggesting areas for future enhancement.