While much of this document nags about the deficiencies in the design and manufacture of the AL5A, it needs to be made clear that, for the price, this device is extremely well thought out and is plenty robust enough for the first-time experimenter to get his hands dirty with the practicalities of running a robot. It’s just that the good things are taken for granted, and the irritations… irritate.
While there are concerns about the physical quality of the device, these are accepted as being in the price (and are an educational part of learning), and most of our endeavours are to produce software which takes these limitations into account and makes the robot arm behave as if it were a more professional acquisition.
The final conclusion is: what fun! And what an enticement to delve deeper into this fascinating branch of engineering science to endeavour to create a truely useful, articulate, delicate, intelligent piece of machinery!