With the development of science and technology, 3D printing technology continues to develop, and its application in the field of robot is more and more extensive. Now only a 3D printing digital file is needed, and with the help of 3D printer, the robot in mind can be printed.

Recently, New York University has opened up a 3D printing version of the research quadruped robot dog solo 8, which can perform a variety of physical actions (such as walking, jumping, etc.) at a very low cost. Moreover, it can be modified and upgraded by itself, and it is easy to assemble. In the future, makers will be able to own DIY intelligent robot dogs, and ordinary fans can also buy them at a lower cost.

Using legged robots to test advanced control and learning algorithms may require a lot of hardware development or maintenance costs. In order to support the rapid and extensive progress of research, the team needs to lower the cost of hardware, firmware and middleware, and make it easy to copy and implement. Researchers can use affordable plastic 3D printing and high-performance brushless DC motor (BLDC) to produce parts. In addition, due to the development of the mobile device market, the team can take advantage of low-cost micro sensors, low-power, high-performance microcontrollers and enhanced battery technology.

The complete robot is made up of four identical legs and a 3D printed body structure. It weighs 2.2kg, measures 42cm in length and 33cm in width. It can communicate wirelessly through Ti and customized electronic board, and can be controlled wirelessly through WiFi network interface. In the finished product, everything is contained in a 3D printed enclosure with no wires exposed. In addition, the module assembly is very simple and requires very few independent parts. Apart from the motor shaft and pulley, other parts are either 3D printed or ready-made.

This 3D printing dog has four flexible legs, and the leg joints can rotate forward or backward. Even if it is rollover, four feet up, it can still stand up again, the original bottom surface into the top surface, achieve a 180 degree reversal, but does not affect the robot dog's movement. The balance of the robot dog is not inferior, that is, it can still stand steadily when it is lifted by hand to let it fall freely, which is comparable to that of a real dog.

The team's next step is to continue to develop a new solo 12 version of the dog robot. It has a total of 12 actuators, three per leg, and initial tests have shown that it is even more functional than its predecessors and can show a wider range of complex behaviors.

Because the robot dog is open source, other research laboratories can easily modify and upgrade it. This allows research and development teams with limited budgets, including those from start-ups, small laboratories or teaching institutions, to innovate and improve their mechanical pet design in the future.

Nowadays, robot design is very extensive. For R & D and maker centers, 3D printing is a very advantageous technology. It is not only low-cost, but also has good controllability, which is very suitable for use in design.

Sources from: https://creality3dpro.store/blogs/news