I can’t figure out how to make the thing move back and forth and go down so I cannot get the thing to work can you give me some ideas
Are you talking about the claw bot made out of VEX IQ parts?
Is it that one?
If so could you be more specific as to what isn’t working, and maybe send pictures of the robot and your code
1 Like
My own personal advice, dont use a claw. However if you dont have the time to build a new mechanism or dont want to here is my advice, I cant really tell from your post if you are having trouble making it go up & down or left & right, for up and down, you know how some of the larger gears have those holes in them, those holes are for screws to connect stuff to the gear to get it to rotate with the gear. For left to right you can just turn. For getting the claw to grab things you just stick a motor on it in the right spot
1 Like
Hello! Welcome to the forum! It is difficult to understand what you want help with because of how you made this post. For building questions like this, it is encouraged that you add images to your post and be more specific about what you’re referring to. For example, we don’t know what “thing” you are referring to and in what context the “thing” is being used in.
2 Likes
Congrats you have won the 2025 “Foster award for vaguest post using more than 30 words!!!”
Maybe try again using different words? Maybe specific words like “claw”, “gantry”,“lift”, etc. would help?
6 Likes
To make the claw move sideways, I would use a gear rack with a spinning pinion. To make the claw go up and down, use a pulley.
Perhaps a robotic arm is being thought of? I did make one a few years ago, so here is a picture (sorry about the quality):
Explanation:
- Motor housed in the yellow base rotates an axle connected to the gripping surface (wheels on their side), rotating the whole top of the mechanism because the wheels resist rotation
- Two motors (the ones with the rubber band around them) move part of the arm up and down (geared for torque), acting like a shoulder
- Two more motors (the ones on the top-right) move another part of the arm up and down (geared for torque), acting like an elbow
- The claw itself is attached loosely to the arm, allowing gravity to keep it pointed down, acting like a wrist
- One last motor spins one side of the claw open/closed and the other side is attached with gears, in a way that it rotates in the opposite direction (the two sides of the claw act like fingers)
- Rubber bands on the claw provide grip
Alternatively, if you want to make a literal claw machine, you can look to 3D printers and existing claw machines for inspiration.
2 Likes
I’m not sure why everyone seems to be confused. He’s talking about building one of these
Out of vex iq parts
6 Likes
i will try to post some pictures as soon as I can so you can see what I have built so far
1 Like
If by a claw machine you mean what @Mr_Blockman said than you should just use a gantry.
2 Likes