Robotic Arm Edge | No Soldering Required | Extensive Range of Motion on All Pivot Points

The Robotic Arm Edge was one of our 10 year old son's top five Christmas requests. In the end it proved to be a great pick. He spent approximately 4 hours from start to finish to complete the project, with some guidance along the way from Dad. Once it was finished however, it did not work and he was discouraged. By then it was late and we were all tired, so we put it aside for evening.The next evening we went back to the troubleshooting page and read over the reviews here at Amazon to give us some clues about what the trouble might be. We also tested the wires and motors independently, one at a time, using a 9-volt battery and two wires to create a circuit with each motor. We knew that all of the connections were good because the motors and gears worked properly when powered by the nine volt battery.We then checked the battery terminals. We discovered they were not bent and positioned down properly. Once the terminal placements were corrected, we were able to get some partial movement with the control box levers, but only in one direction. We removed the top of the control box and 'warmed up' the metal plates by pressing each of them down manually in each direction with our fingers, to ensure they were making contact with the circuit board, and the robotic arm's mobility greatly improved. (You may have to repeat this step occasionally to maintain full mobility, double check wire connections, and make sure that the wires are not being crimped, tangled or pulled out of position by the movement of the arm. The wire clips are very helpful when placed correctly for this reason). The movement specs* from the manual are as follows:Gripper: 0-1.77"Wrist motion: 120 degreesElbow motion: 300 deg.Base motion: 180 deg.Base rotation: 270 deg.Search light: on when on switch is on.*We found these measurements to be pretty accurate.Finally, we smoothed off a few plastic 'burrs' that were catching as the robotic arm spun on it's base, untangled and repositioned a few wires to keep them from tugging and pulling out of their connectors as the arm revolved, screwed the control box back together, and Oila! The robotic arm now works beautifully, LED light and all.Our son declared, "I am Satisfied!" with a huge grin and a sigh of relief :) It was great outcome to a slightly challenging project. The gearboxes were a bit taxing to put together from a 10 year old's perspective, but he stuck with it, even though it was a initially frustrating. After putting together several of the gearboxes he was a pro. We encouraged him to take his time and read the instructions thoroughly to become familiar with the concept and sequence of steps before he began, and we think that really helped to make the project go much smoother for him than it might have otherwise.One precaution: If you hear clicking noises as you move the robotic arm with the controls, that means to stop and go back in the other direction! We have explained that it is important NOT to try to manually force the arm to move in one direction or another, or the gears may break! You may also be trying to lift too much, depending on where the center of gravity is in relation to the weight of the object. Because of the plastic gears and other components, it is a TOY more than it is a tool.Our son is looking forward to using the 'RAE' to assist him in other building kits, such as legos, kinex, and maybe another similar robotic project. The best lesson that came out of this for us was that putting our heads together and combining our knowledge, skills with a little perseverence kept us from giving up on it and assuming there was something defective about the kit. We worked backward and retraced our steps, and it was a great success. What could be better than learning and having lots of fun in the process? :)I am writing this review because we were helped greatly by the informative reviews already posted here, and I hope that what we learned along the way can help someone else, incase they get stuck a bit as we did. It's worth it to press on and find solutions to problems, and our son is enjoying the fruits of his labor and is all smiles now :) The stars were his review of this product.

Nickel tour version:If you are a dad/engineer/kid-at-heart looking for a fun/functional/cool robot arm, I recommend it.Longer version:Easy to assemble, good intro to robotics and opens up discussions about computer control (I got the version with the manual control box). It's fun and it works. To address some of the reviews I saw before I placed my order.*****Assembly:Parts look good. Nice castings and plastic quality.All plastic parts are clearly identified and properly packaged.There is a 1:1 (actual size) guide to ID all the screws and shafts.Assembly instructions are very good; follow them so you don't strip the plastic while using the tapping screws.To install/change the batteries all you have to do is take the battery cover off (3 screws).It will take you OVER two hours to put together, plan for it. You don't have to build it in one sitting.You will need a correct sized Phillips screwdriver and patience if working with smaller children.Long nose pliers help a lot. I used dollar store tweezers.*****Function:Fun.Everything works.Surprisingly heavy lifting capabilities."Safety gear indicator" works as expected to release/slip the mechanism if you push it beyond the max. That is the loud clack you hear if you try to force any of the gearboxes.As I mentioned at the top, recommended.

Update: I threw your product away today. This purchase represents the worst experience I have ever had with an online purchase. It never worked. When I complained and asked for service, I was never offered a replacement, refund, or even the simple cheap part that would have made it work. My complaints or requests were never so much as acknowledged or responded to.A mugging would be a better business transaction.Nice job to this company for disappointing kids and parents. Nice job, Amazon, on backing complete garbage so you can get your cut on what amounts to a scam.If you buy this product you take the very real chance of being ripped off like many people are on broken circuit boards. The only option offered as a fix is to pay 3/4 the price of the new set for a $1 circuit board.Update: I've still received no offer or contact from the company to replace or refund a commonly defective product. Upon closer inspection of reviews, of those that appear to be legitimate, at least a quarter are reported as unusable or defective, often with the exact defect I had. Many of these reviews are recently new. ... It's worth noting the other products under the company name as ones to wisely avoid in terms of low quality and absent customer service. This one ranks high as the most disappointing purchases from the perspective of a let-down child's Christmas present. ... Buyer beware.I doubt I'll get a refund or replacement, but you should seriously consider denying them another purchase of this low-quality product.We clearly received a defective circuit board or wiring harness.It was assembled carefully without error, and then each control worked once in the up direction. The "down" series on the circuit board never worked once.It was a Christmas gift for my son, and the 30-day warranty passed before we could open, build, and take advantage of the warranty. No doubt they work a weak warranty into a poorly designed toy.The company could make up for my son's disappointment with a replacement or a refund.