A desktop multifunctional robotic manipulator with 4 degrees of freedom, a 320 mm reach and ±0.2 mm positioning repeatability, with interchangeable vacuum, gripper, pen, laser engraving and three-dimensional printing effectors, for teaching automation, mechatronics and additive technologies in schools.
The LABOTRIX ARM R5 is a desktop multifunctional robotic manipulator for the practical study of automation, mechatronics and additive technologies in educational institutions. Changing the end effector turns the product into different teaching tools: the vacuum gripping kit and the mechanical gripper kit move objects, the holder with a pen writes and draws, the laser module engraves, and the module with an extruder and a hot nozzle performs three-dimensional printing. The manipulator is controlled from a computer through the manufacturer’s software platform, with a separate joystick, from a mobile device over a wireless link, or in standalone mode without a permanent connection to a computer. It is used in computer science, technology and robotics lessons and in club and project work; people who have completed a safety briefing are admitted to operate it, and students work with the manipulator only under the supervision of a teacher.
The manipulator consists of a base, an upper arm, a forearm and an end effector unit, giving 4 degrees of freedom in joints J1 to J4, and the fourth joint rotates the end effector unit through a servo drive built into the vacuum gripping and mechanical gripper kits. The J1 base joint turns from -135 to +135 degrees, the J2 upper arm from 0 to +85 degrees, the J3 forearm from -10 to +95 degrees and the J4 end effector from -90 to +90 degrees; the upper arm link is 135 mm long and the forearm 147 mm. The maximum reach of the working area is 320 mm, the maximum payload is 500 g and the positioning repeatability is ±0.2 mm. With a 250 g load on the effector, the maximum rotation speed of the base, upper arm and forearm is 320 degrees per second and that of the end effector servo drive is 480 degrees per second. Load-bearing elements are made of 6061 aluminium alloy and impact-resistant plastic, a combination that gives the structure its rigidity at a comparatively low weight. Mains power is 100-240 V alternating current at 50/60 Hz and the power input is 12 V direct current / 7 A. Drive overload is monitored by step-loss detection, which stops the motion automatically and indicates the alarm state, and the operating temperature range of the manipulator is -10 to +60 °C. Communication channels supplied as standard are USB for a direct wired connection to a computer and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth for wireless control from a computer or a mobile device. The base and the forearm carry 20 expandable input/output interfaces for connecting the air pump, the extruder, the laser module, sensors and other accessories, and end effectors are fixed on the end of the forearm with a single clamping screw using 1.5 and 2.5 mm hex keys, without any additional electronics setup. A button on the forearm releases the drives for manual teaching of points, and an LED indicator on the base shows the operating mode. Programming methods are teaching by motion with playback of recorded points, block (graphical) programming and the Python and C++ text languages, and the interface of the control software platform is in Ukrainian. The three-dimensional printing area is a circle with a radius of 80 mm and a height of 150 mm; the extruder nozzle has a diameter of 0.4 mm and an operating temperature of about 200 °C, printing does not start below 170 °C, and the maximum temperature of the heating rod is 250 °C. Models are prepared in STL format and sliced into G-code control commands in a compatible print preparation program, and the product works with common environments for preparing models for three-dimensional printing and for controlling laser engraving.
The set includes the robotic arm – 1 pc; a vacuum gripping kit with an air pump, a suction cup with a bracket and a servo drive, an air tube and connecting cables – 1 set; a mechanical gripper kit with a servo drive running from the shared air pump – 1 set; a writing and drawing kit with a holder and a pen – 1 set; a three-dimensional printing module with an extruder, a hot nozzle with a heater, a thermistor and a fan, a filament feed tube and a spool of plastic filament with a holder – 1 set; a laser engraving module with a clamping screw, a power cable, a signal cable and the supplied protective goggles – 1 pc; a wireless local network (Wi-Fi) module – 1 pc; a short-range wireless (Bluetooth) module – 1 pc; a joystick kit with a wireless joystick, a signal receiver with a module for connection to the communication interface and a USB charging cable – 1 set; a 12 V / 7 A power supply with a mains cable – 1 pc; a USB cable for connection to a computer – 1 pc; a communication interface cable – 1 pc; a sensor calibration card – 1 pc; an automatic levelling tool – 1 pc; a set of 1.5 and 2.5 mm hex keys – 1 set; the access right to the online course with the language model assistant (licence) – 1 pc; the passport with the warranty card – 1 pc; and individual transport packaging – 1 pc. A guide rail for extending the working area, a conveyor, additional sensors and other modules of the ecosystem are supplied separately. The product arrives assembled and needs no assembly beyond fitting the chosen end effector into the socket on the forearm.
The product is supplied with the access right to an online teaching support course hosted in a learning management system (LMS) and designed for 70 academic hours of lessons, compiled for the current curricula of general secondary education institutions of Ukraine. The materials are grouped into research modules in physics, biology, chemistry, STEM and robotics, and each topic contains a lesson plan, a list of the equipment needed, an experiment scenario, a step-by-step laboratory work instruction explaining the expected result, a video demonstration of working techniques, interactive exercises and tasks for independent study, suitable for both individual and group work. All modules were compiled for this same equipment and tested on it, so the course follows a direct chain from the equipment through the methodology to the learning outcomes.
The kit includes an AI assistant built into the learning management system on retrieval-augmented generation. It selects research tasks and experiments matching the topic of the lesson, describes the procedure of the experiment step by step, identifies typical student errors and gives personalised recommendations for correcting them, adapts task difficulty to different levels of student preparation, supports students in compiling reports on research results and in structuring the conclusions drawn from experiments, and works on a localised knowledge base aligned with the national curriculum of Ukraine. The licence for the course and the software is valid for 12 months; content, interface and learning materials are in Ukrainian. The course and assistant are used together with the manipulator itself: the teacher selects the topic in the course list and the assistant proposes suitable tasks for the lesson.
Before the laser module is switched on, laser protective goggles are worn by everyone in the working area of the manipulator and not only by the operator; the manufacturer states neither the laser class nor its power or wavelength, so these details are checked against the marking on the module itself. Engraving is done in a well-ventilated room, materials that release toxic combustion products such as polyvinyl chloride and mirrored or metal surfaces are not engraved, and the switched-on laser module is never left unattended. The heating rod of the hot nozzle reaches 250 °C, so the nozzle, the heating block and a freshly printed part are not touched during printing and for some time afterwards, until they have cooled completely. The manipulator is powered only from the standard power supply, and cables, end effectors and external accessories are connected and disconnected with the product switched off; the whole working area in front of the base is kept clear during motion. The product is stored in a dry room at +5 to +40 °C and a relative humidity of 80 % without condensation, and it is carried by the base with both hands. The recommended age of students is from 10 years, that is grade 5 and above, and the product is used only under the supervision of a teacher. The service life is 5 years and the warranty period is 12 months from the date of sale.
