multi direction servo

Other Hardware Motors, Mechanics, Power and CNC
1

is there a multi direction servo or something that i could use
to move something at right, left, up, down and spinn around?
I want it for the leggs for a biped robot.

2

I've never heard of anything like that. I think you just need to use several separate servos to create the compound motion.

...R

3

What you are looking for is something called a "spherical joint" - one of the premier inventors of such a joint is roboticist Mark Rosheim - note that such joints are anything but inexpensive (which is one reason why you don't see them used much).

You might also look into "serpentine robotics" for some interesting posibilities; with proper actuation and construction, you can get something akin to "tentacle"-like control of an "arm" - and perhaps something like that could be adapted to control a leg.

That said, for most biped robots (as noted by Robin2) seperate servos and joints tend to be used, mainly due to availability, cost, and ease of implementation.

4

Agreed that a single spherical or universal servo is going to be expensive, but as Robin2 mentioned there are multi servo alternatives. I'm looking for a realistic neck joint for my project and I also need yaw, pitch and roll around a single point.

I don't know whether the link will work*, but have a look at this document. It goes into a whole lot of animatronic stuff but the author has definitely done their research and the neck joint seems to meet both your and my requirements. Very ingenious, I thought.

Now just to find or make the brackets necessary... If only I had a 3d printer.

    • If it doesn't, search for "animatronic head" and find a PDF by R. Fitzpatrick on www.wpi.edu.