Robotic arms (and other similar limbs) are supposed to be strong, stable, and safe. But what happens when the plan is to turn one into a hybrid between a failed experiment and a work of art? For that, there's no one better than Simone Giertz, the famous Queen of Shitty Robots, who decided to combine two of her favorite things: robotics and stained glass...
Glass has extraordinary properties and can lead to fabulous works when handled by a professional. At the same time, its fragility and the risk associated with incorrect handling form a kind of barrier that keeps much of the public away. However, that hasn't stopped some enthusiasts on the Web. That brings us to Simone Giertz's channel, whom we remember for her Truckla project and for the hilarious performance of her DIY robots. What did she do this time? Create a glass robotic arm to make herself some tea...
How to Build a Glass Robotic Arm, and Suffer in the Process
The strategy looks good on the surface: take the metal pieces and use them as patterns to cut the glass. But this wouldn't be a Simone Giertz video without a bit of suffering, which didn't take long to appear. First, she decided to change the screws, but discovered that the holes were too small. Then, one of the pieces turned out to be too wide, forcing her to cut, adjust, and solder again. And when everything seemed ready for the real test, the arm failed twice at the same point.
What decision did Simone make? She cheated and reinstalled one of the metal pieces to solve the problem, because judging from her reaction, the alternative was to throw the robot out the window (all DIY enthusiasts have been in that position). Fortunately, the final version of the mostly-glass robotic arm managed to prepare a cup of tea (also spraying the whole table with the liquid trapped in the tea bag), and the project came to a successful end.
Source: Hackaday
