A Budget-Friendly 3D-Printed Robot Arm
Build a DIY robot arm in a weekend! Grab an ESP32, some servos, and a 3D printer to create your own phone-controlled desktop manipulator.
It’s a fact: robot arms are objectively cool. For all but a few of us, however, having an industrial-grade robot in our homes is completely out of reach due to their cost, complexity, and size. Radio Shack’s Armatron (IYKYK!) of the 1980s gave us a taste of what having our own robot arm could be like — but ultimately, this was just a toy that was very limited.
Even today, there are not all that many choices out there for the hobbyist who would like their own inexpensive, yet reasonably capable, robot arm. Fortunately, YouTuber Tech Talkies recognized that the technology required to make an affordable robot arm at home now exists. So, in a recent video, Tech Talkies laid out a blueprint to help us make our own.
The project is built around a Seeed Studio XIAO ESP32S3 microcontroller, a tiny but powerful board with built-in Wi-Fi. Rather than relying on proprietary remotes or specialized apps, the creator leveraged the ESP32’s networking capabilities to simplify the entire control system.
The arm itself is built almost entirely from 3D-printed parts. The base, arm segments, and gripper are printed and assembled around four SG90 micro servos, inexpensive hobby motors commonly used in RC projects. Each servo is assigned a job: rotating the base, lifting the shoulder, bending the elbow, and opening or closing the claw. The electronics are mounted on a small prototype PCB, which makes the design accessible to builders without advanced soldering experience.
When powered on, the ESP32 creates its own Wi-Fi network. Connecting a phone to the network and navigating to a specific IP address opens a browser-based controller. From there, on-screen controls send commands directly to the robot arm in real time.
Behind the scenes, the ESP32 converts those commands into PWM signals that precisely position each servo. The result is a very smooth and responsive manipulator operated entirely from a mobile browser — no downloads required.
Tech Talkies has also published the source code online, making reproducing the project even simpler. For makers with a 3D printer and a handful of affordable components, a personal desktop robot arm is only a weekend project away.