Two-Axis SCARA Robotic Drawing Arm (Team 6)

By

Jason Chen, Sean Patterson and Scott Bremmer

PCB
Winter 2026

Our project is a two-axis SCARA robotic drawing arm designed to take user-inputted commands and translate them into controlled arm movement for drawing lines, rectangles, and other simple shapes. The intended use of the system is to demonstrate how robotic motion, user interfaces, and embedded control can work together to create an automated drawing platform. The system uses and ESP32 microcontroller, motor control hardware, G-code style command input, and a user interface built through Python. Commands such as G0, G1, G90, and G91 allow the user to control movement type and positioning. The design also includes an emergency stop feature that allows the system to stop quickly for safety and reset before continuing operation. One of our most notable accomplishments was integrating the user interface, microcontroller communication, and robotic arm movement into one working system. A major challenge was coordinating mechanical, electrical, and software components so that they behaved reliably together. Future improvements could include increasing drawing accuracy, improving the physical structure, refining motor control, and expanding the types of shapes the system can draw.

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Artifacts

Name Description
System Level Document The system-level design document is an over arching view of the robotic arm. It contains the engineering requirements, top-level architecture diagram, interface definitions, and subsystem requirements.   Link
IMU and ESP32 Design Document This design document accounts for the IMU and microcontroller blocks.   Link
Executive Project Summary This document provides an executive summary of the Two-Axis SCARA Robotic Drawing Arm project. It describes the original engineering problem, the team's design and development process, project timeline, major accomplishments, challenges encountered during development, and key lessons learned throughout the project. The summary highlights how the system integrates user input, microcontroller communication, and robotic motion to create an automated drawing platform.   Download
Voltage Regulator and Stepper Motor Design Document This design document accounts for the voltage regulator and stepper motor blocks.   Link
Motor Driver and UI Design Document This artifact highlights the development and verification of the Motor Driver and User Interface (UI) blocks used in the Two-Axis SCARA Robotic Drawing Arm project. The Motor Driver Block converts control signals from the ESP32 microcontroller into the signals required to drive the robotic arm's motors, enabling accurate and reliable movement of the system. The User Interface Block provides a method for users to interact with the robot by sending supported commands through serial communication, allowing control of positioning and drawing operations. Verification testing confirmed successful command transmission, proper handling of supported and unsupported commands, reliable communication between subsystems, and correct motor response. Together, these blocks demonstrate the integration of software, hardware, and communication systems necessary for controlling the robotic arm and meeting the project's functional requirements.   Download
Video Showcase Video presentation for our robotic arm   Link
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