MEng Dissertation · Final Mechanical Design
Dextrous Robotic Hand - 700U CW4
This individual MEng report covers the complete mechanical redesign, manufacture and evaluation of a low-cost dextrous robotic hand with multimodal sensing. The project moved from an intended adaptation of the open-source ORCA hand to an original, editable mechanical architecture. The final FDM-printed PLA prototype combined two fully actuated fingers, two underactuated fingers and one fully actuated thumb with split phalanx assemblies, internal tendon routing, printed torsion springs, removable sensing fingertips and a detachable motor hub. Ten DYNAMIXEL actuators, an OpenCR and a Raspberry Pi 5 were mechanically integrated. Initial powered testing confirmed movement in the intended directions and successful fingertip sensor integration, while grasp force, backlash, fatigue life and long-term material performance remain areas for quantitative future testing.
- Role
- Full mechanical CAD redesign, manufacture and assembly
- Software / tools
- SOLIDWORKS, FDM printing, DYNAMIXEL, OpenCR and Raspberry Pi 5 integration
- Completed
- April 2026
Project PDF