Built from Scratch.
Used Around the World.
Arctos Robotics is a one-person open source project that grew into a global community. What started on a 10-year-old PC and a 3D printer salvaged from trash is now used in university research programs on four continents, featured by the world’s top maker publications, and sponsored by Bambu Lab.
“I did this with my 10-year-old PC and a 3D printer I built from the trash. For anyone wanting motivation — here I am.” — The creator of Arctos, on Reddit, the day the site received 50,000 hits and crashed
One Person. No Budget. No Name.
The creator of Arctos Robotics has always remained anonymous — known only as u/ganacbicnio on Reddit. No corporate backing, no university lab, no team. Just a personal project to learn something new and “explore places I haven’t been.”
The first version of the arm was built for roughly $300, salvaging stepper motors from old paper printers and reusing an Arduino and CNC shields from other scrap projects. The 3D printer used to make the parts was itself assembled from discarded components.
When the assembly manual and CAD files launched in late 2022, the response was immediate. The site received 50,000 hits on day one and crashed the server. Hundreds of Reddit comments poured in. The Reddit Robotics community nominated Arctos for its annual showcase.
Since then, Arctos has grown from a single Reddit post into a full ecosystem: CAD files in four formats, an open source firmware stack on GitHub, a native AI control application (Arctos Studio), hardware kits on Amazon and AliExpress, and a Discord community of thousands of active builders.
The creator’s identity remains private — but the work is entirely public, verifiable, and reproducible. That’s the point.
6-axis arm built for ~$300 using scavenged steppers, a recycled printer, and a 10-year-old PC.
Assembly manual and CAD files go live. Site crashes from traffic. Reddit nominates Arctos for its annual Robotics Showcase.
Top maker publications cover Arctos independently. RoboDK and Electromaker list it as a compatible project.
Arctos becomes the platform for Master’s theses and senior design projects at universities in Czech Republic, USA, Canada, Vietnam, and Bosnia.
Bambu Lab partnership brings 3MF pre-oriented files. Hardware v2 kits launch on Amazon. Arctos Studio ships with AI, computer vision, and PLC support.
West3D begins stocking Arctos hardware kits in the US. Closed loop v2 with CAN bus and encoder feedback ships.
Who Builds With and Around Arctos
From sponsored hardware partnerships to software integrations — these are the platforms and companies that have adopted Arctos.
Covered by the World’s Top Maker Publications
Arctos has been independently featured by every major maker and hardware publication — without press releases or PR campaigns.
“The firmware is open source… for less than forty euros, we reckon the investment would be well worth it, judging from the quality of the build instructions and the software support already in place.”
Read article →“Arctos Robotics aims to design a 3D-printable robot arm as easy as building LEGO — releasing files to 3D print and build your very own, using easily-sourceable parts and an impressively detailed assembly guide.”
Read article →Featured Arctos as a full build tutorial project — one of the platform’s most-viewed robotics projects. Full wiring diagrams, CAD files, and firmware instructions published.
View project →“Features of the ARCTOS robot arm include six degrees of freedom, together with a 600mm reach… uses RoboDK software, is ROS compatible and is capable of pick and place automation.”
Read article →“Build yourself a robotic arm from scratch. I did this completely myself in order to learn something new and explore places I haven’t been.” Full project page with EasyEDA schematics and CAD files.
View project →“Looking for a next-level project? Check out the Arctos robotic arm kit — everything you need to build a computer-controlled robot.” West3D stocks and ships Arctos kits to the US market.
Read feature →Used in University Research on 4 Continents
Arctos has become a genuine research platform. Students and researchers around the world have chosen it as the foundation for theses, senior design projects, and published papers — because it’s real, open, and reproducible.
The Numbers Behind the Project
Every number below is independently verifiable — from GitHub commit history to YouTube subscriber counts.
Want to Build One Yourself?
Download the CAD files and join 4,000+ makers who have already built their own Arctos robotic arm from scratch. Instant download, all formats, all future updates included.