Open Source Robotic Arm – Arctos 6-Axis | 600mm Reach, 2kg Payload, Full CAD Files
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🔓 Firmware open source on GitHub
📐 Fusion 360 · STEP · STL · 3MF
🤖 ROS / ROS2 / RoboDK / Isaac Sim
🎓 Used at 11+ universities
💬 4,000+ Discord community
Understanding the platform

What Is an Open Source Robotic Arm?

An open source robotic arm is one where the design files, firmware, and/or software are publicly available — allowing anyone to study, build, modify, and extend the project. Unlike commercial robot arms that cost $5,000–$50,000 and offer no visibility into their internals, open source arms give engineers, students, and makers full access to everything.

The term covers a spectrum. Some projects are “open source” in name only — releasing STL files but nothing else. The best open source robotic arms release everything: parametric CAD files, firmware source code, wiring schematics, a full BOM, assembly documentation, and a control software stack.

Why Arctos Is Different

Arctos releases the full firmware on GitHub, provides CAD in four formats (including fully editable Fusion 360 source files), ships a complete assembly manual, and backs it all with a free control application, Discord support, and a community of 4,000+ active builders. It’s not just a file dump — it’s a complete platform.

That’s why researchers at Caltech, Brno University, University of Illinois, and nine other institutions have chosen Arctos as the base for their robotics projects. It’s reproducible, well-documented, and actively maintained.

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Open Firmware — GRBL on GitHub
The full Arctos GRBL firmware is on GitHub. Fork it, modify it, submit pull requests. The codebase is actively maintained and community-contributed.
📐
Full CAD Files in 4 Formats
Fusion 360 native files (fully editable), STEP assembly, STL for any slicer, and 3MF pre-configured for Bambu Lab. Every joint, gear, and housing — fully remixable.
🤖
ROS / ROS2 Integration
Full MoveIt support with URDF and config files. Works with ROS 1 and ROS 2. NVIDIA Isaac Sim integration available for AI and reinforcement learning research.
🧬
Free Native Control Software
Arctos Studio ships free and handles simulation, path planning, AI control, computer vision, PLC programming, and real-time telemetry. No third-party software required.
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Full Assembly Manual + BOM
Step-by-step assembly documentation with photo guides for every axis, gearbox, and wiring connection. Full bill of materials with sourcing links included.
🏛️
University-Grade Research Platform
Adopted as the hardware base for Master’s theses, senior capstone projects, and published research papers. Reproducible, reliable, and well-documented enough for academic use.
What “Open Source” Means Here

Every Layer Is Open

Most “open source” projects open one layer. Arctos opens all of them — hardware, firmware, software, and documentation.

🔧
Open Hardware Design

Full CAD files in Fusion 360, STEP, STL, and 3MF. Every part of the arm — from the base cycloidal gearbox to the wrist — is fully editable. Change materials, tolerances, dimensions, or add entirely new toolheads.

Download CAD files →
💾
Open Firmware

Arctos GRBL is the open source firmware running on Arduino/ESP32. The full source is on GitHub — fork it, modify kinematics, add custom axes, or submit improvements back to the project.

View on GitHub →
🖥️
Free Control Software

Arctos Studio is free at its core — simulation, path planning, calibration, AI control, and computer vision with no licence fee. A Pro tier adds advanced automation features for commercial use.

Explore Arctos Studio →
📚
Open Documentation

The full assembly manual, hardware docs, wiring diagrams, and build guides are all publicly available. No paywalls, no access codes — just complete technical documentation anyone can read.

Read the docs →
🧩
Open Ecosystem

ROS / ROS2, RoboDK, MATLAB/Simulink, NVIDIA Isaac Sim, GrblGru — the arm works with the full open source robotics software stack. No proprietary lock-in, no vendor-specific protocols.

See software compat →
👥
Open Community

4,000+ builders on Discord, hundreds of GitHub issues and PRs, community mods, and builders sharing builds on YouTube and Reddit. Questions get answered. Problems get solved.

Join Discord →
Technical Specifications

Built for Real Work,
Not Just Demos

600mm reach and 2kg payload puts Arctos in the same capability class as entry-level industrial arms — at 10× less cost.

Degrees of Freedom6-axis (X · Y · Z · A · B · C)
Maximum Reach600 mm
Payload Capacity2 kg
Arm Weight~10 kg
Gearbox TypeCycloidal (Y, Z) + Planetary (A, B, C)
Control OptionsOpen Loop (TMC2209) or Closed Loop
ElectronicsArduino / ESP32 / CAN Bus
Printed Parts168 structural parts
Filament Required~4 kg PLA or ABS
Min. Print Bed200 × 200 mm
Build Time15–25 hours
Total Build Cost$300–$500
CAD FilesFusion 360 · STEP · STL · 3MF
FirmwareArctos GRBL (open source, GitHub)

Software Compatibility

The Arctos open source robotic arm integrates natively with every major robotics and AI software platform:

🧬 Arctos Studio (free) 🤖 ROS 1 & ROS 2 🏭 RoboDK 🧮 MATLAB / Simulink 🌐 NVIDIA Isaac Sim ⚙️ GrblGru 📦 Robot Overlord
ROS GUI integration with Arctos open source robotic arm
ROS Integration Demo
Full ROS GUI walkthrough with motion planning and joint control
Arctos Studio — free open source robot control software
Arctos Studio — Free Control Software
Simulation, path planning, AI control, and computer vision
What You Can Build

One Open Source Arm,
Endless Applications

The Arctos open source robotic arm is a platform, not a single-purpose tool. Here’s what the community has built with it.

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Pick and Place Automation

Object detection via computer vision in Arctos Studio. Program pick-and-place sequences with path planning, conveyor integration, and automatic gripper control.

🖨️
Robot-Arm 3D Printing

Mount a hotend as the end-effector and use RoboDK’s Cura trajectory import to print objects with unrestricted print angles — no support structures needed.

🧠
AI & Reinforcement Learning

Train manipulation policies in NVIDIA Isaac Sim and deploy to the physical arm. ROS 2 and MoveIt enable full sim-to-real transfer pipelines.

👁️
Computer Vision Tasks

Arctos Studio ships built-in computer vision support. Object recognition, colour detection, and pose estimation integrated directly into the control loop.

🎓
University Research & Teaching

Used in 11+ universities for kinematics courses, senior design projects, and published research. The URDF and DH parameters are fully documented.

🦾
Assistive & Accessibility Tech

Gannon University’s EE capstone team modified Arctos into a wheelchair-mounted assistive arm. Open hardware means it can be adapted for real-world deployment.

⚡
PLC Programming Practice

Arctos Studio includes a PLC programming interface. Program industrial-style ladder logic and sequential function charts on a real 6-axis platform.

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Lab Automation

The 600mm reach and 2kg payload make it suitable for laboratory sample handling, repetitive pipetting sequences, and inspection tasks.

🛠️
Custom Toolheads & Mods

Full Fusion 360 source files mean the end-effector mount is a starting point. The community has built welding torches, laser engravers, and painting heads.

How It Compares

Arctos vs Other Open Source Robotic Arms

There are several open source robot arm projects. Here’s how Arctos stacks up on the criteria that actually matter for builders and researchers.

Feature
Arctos arctosrobotics.com
AR4 / Annin anninrobotics.com
PAROL6 source-robotics.com
BCN3D Moveo GitHub only
Degrees of Freedom 6-axis 6-axis 6-axis 5-axis
CAD File Formats F360 · STEP · STL · 3MF Fusion 360 only STEP · STL STL only
Firmware Open Source ✓ Full source on GitHub ✓ GitHub ✓ GitHub ✓ GitHub
Native Control Software Arctos Studio (free) ARCS (free) PAROL6 GUI None — third party only
ROS / ROS2 Support ✓ Full MoveIt ✓ ROS2 ✓ ROS2 Community only
AI / Computer Vision ✓ Built into Arctos Studio — — —
Closed Loop Option ✓ Hardware v2 ✓ MK3 ✓ Default ✕ Open loop only
Hardware Kit Available ✓ Amazon & AliExpress — $326 Amazon — ~$600 Kit available Self-source only
Printed Parts Kit ✓ $360 pre-manufactured Self-print only Self-print only Self-print only
University Research Use 11+ institutions Some documented Limited Limited
Active Community 4,000+ builders · Discord Active Discord Smaller community GitHub only
Press / Media Coverage Hackaday · Hackster · Electromaker Hackaday Limited Limited
Academic Adoption

The Open Source Robotic Arm
Chosen by Researchers Worldwide

When students and academics need a reliable, reproducible platform for serious robotics research, they choose Arctos. Here’s the documented record.

🇺🇸
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)
Caltech robotics team collaboration for teaching and prototyping 6-DoF robotic arm tasks
Research
🇺🇸
University of Illinois — ECE 445 Senior Design
Robotic arm for household automation — full project report published by the ECE department
View report →
🇺🇸
Folsom Institute of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
First documented Arctos build at a dedicated AI and robotics research institute
Watch →
🇺🇸
Gannon University — Electrical Engineering Capstone
Assistive wheelchair-mounted robotic arm explicitly based on the Arctos design
Capstone
🇺🇸
University of North Texas — CE Senior Design
“The robotic arm system is based off of the Arctos DIY robotic arm” — Spring 2025 abstracts
View abstract →
🇨🇿
Brno University of Technology — Master’s Thesis
Jan Holba — full Master’s thesis with custom ROS integration and motion planning
Watch demo →
🇨🇦
Concordia University, Quebec
Omar Dabayeh — ongoing robotics engineering project with published build documentation
View →
🇧🇦
University of Tuzla — Published Research Paper
Almir Osmanovic — “Affordable Collision Detection for a 3D-Printed Robotic Arm” on ResearchGate
Read paper →
🇻🇳
Hanoi University of Science and Technology
Inicio Lab student robotics team — documented build and integration project
University Lab
★★★★★ 4.9 / 5 · 312 verified builders

Arctos Open Source Robotic Arm
— Complete CAD Package

One purchase gives you every file format, the gripper design, and all future updates — forever. The most complete design package available for any open source robotic arm.

  • Fusion 360 native files — edit every joint, gear, and housing
  • STEP assembly — import into SolidWorks, FreeCAD, Onshape, any CAD tool
  • STL files — print-ready for any FDM slicer
  • 3MF pre-oriented — zero setup for Bambu Lab printers
  • Gripper design included
  • All future updates and mods — lifetime access at no extra cost
  • Instant download after purchase
€49.95
One-time · All formats · Instant download
  • Secure checkout
  • Email delivery in seconds
  • Lifetime update access
Want the hardware too?
Complete electronics kits (open loop & closed loop) available on Amazon and AliExpress from $326. Printed parts kit also available.
FAQ

Open Source Robotic Arm — Common Questions

Everything you need to know before choosing or building an open source robotic arm.

Arctos is widely considered the most complete open source robotic arm currently available. It combines full CAD files in four formats, open source firmware on GitHub, a free native control application (Arctos Studio), ROS/ROS2 support, and a hardware kit starting at $326. It’s adopted by 11+ universities and featured by Hackaday, Hackster.io, and Electromaker. Other strong options include the Annin AR4 (good documentation, US-focused) and PAROL6 (strong closed-loop hardware), but neither matches Arctos’s software ecosystem or community size.
The firmware (Arctos GRBL) is fully open source on GitHub — fork it, modify it, contribute to it. The control software (Arctos Studio) is free at its core. The CAD files are sold (€49.95) to fund continued development, but include fully editable Fusion 360 source files — you can modify every dimension, gear ratio, and part design. Many open source projects only release STL files; Arctos releases the full parametric source. The assembly manual and hardware documentation are entirely public and free.
A complete Arctos build costs $300–$500. The electronics hardware kit starts at $326 (Amazon or AliExpress). CAD files are €49.95. Filament for 168 structural parts costs $40–60 for ~4kg PLA. This compares to entry-level commercial 6-axis arms that start at $5,000–$15,000 and don’t expose their internals at all.
Arctos works with: Arctos Studio (free, native — simulation, path planning, AI, computer vision, PLC), ROS 1 & ROS 2 (full MoveIt support), RoboDK (official post-processor, industrial sim), MATLAB/Simulink, NVIDIA Isaac Sim (physics-based AI training), and GrblGru (open source control). There’s no proprietary lock-in — the arm speaks open protocols.
Yes — and many already have. Arctos has been used for Master’s theses (Brno University of Technology), ECE senior design projects (University of Illinois), published research papers (University of Tuzla, on ResearchGate), and capstone projects at Gannon University, University of North Texas, Concordia University, and Caltech. The full DH parameters, URDF files, and technical specs are publicly documented. A ResearchGate paper on the platform is available.
The open loop version uses TMC2209 stepper drivers — simpler, quieter, faster to build, but has no position feedback (if a motor misses a step, the arm won’t know). The closed loop version adds encoder feedback via CAN bus, eliminating missed steps for precise, repeatable motion. Both use identical CAD files and structural parts. Choose open loop for learning and prototyping; choose closed loop for applications requiring high repeatability or long autonomous runs.
No. You can purchase the Printed Parts v2 Kit ($360) which delivers all 168 structural parts pre-manufactured in Polymaker ABS. If you do have a printer (minimum 200×200mm bed), the STL and 3MF files are included with your CAD purchase and you can print everything yourself for ~$40–60 in filament.