Mechanical Finger
An Arduino-powered mechanical hand that replicates the movements of human fingers. Designed, 3D-printed, assembled, and simulated as part of a passion-driven mechatronics project at UCL.
Precise Control
A single stepper motor drives the finger, providing basic bend‐and‐straighten motion to grab objects
3D‐Printed Durability
Lightweight printed parts form a sturdy framework, illustrating how easily mechanics and rapid prototyping fit together.
Design Stage
When we initially started this project, we wanted something that functioned and served a purpose. As first-year students, we dreamt ambitiously and thought, hmm alright, maybe we can do something in the field of healthcare. Let's try a mechanical hand. Our professor was quite reluctant about the idea, but we decided to pursue it regardless. We began with an ambitious stretch goal that eventually led us to the design you see on the left.
Our original idea was to build an entire mechanical hand capable of lifting objects and interacting just like a human hand. However, given our limited time constraints, we decided to narrow the project down to just one mechanical finger. Our CAD designs for the phalanges and palm are shown below.
If we extended the potential of our project, imagining if every finger were made the same size, it would look something like this.
Prototyping and final Stages
As we started production, we realized that we could add a spring on its backside, which would enable us to use just one motor instead of two. This would allow us to use our resources most efficiently and simplify communication between components. We conducted a small experiment to see how a thread could act as a tendon.
Once our hardware setup was complete, we initially wished to test with an EMG sensor to control the finger directly from our forearms, simulating a disabled patient scenario. However, our local supplier ran out of components, and with a strict timeline, we decided to demonstrate using a joystick and an IMU sensor instead.
Simulation demostrating a how the finger would lift up.
Below are video demonstrations of the final production.
