Nextis Aira 3D

Open-source 7DoF 3D-printable robotic arm with LeRobot integration.

Overview

AIRA

An Intelligent Robotic Arm

Build it. Plug it in. Train AI.

Designed and built by Nextis · Powered by LeRobot

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AIRA is a 3D-printable, 7-DoF (6-DoF + 1-DoF Gripper) robotic arm with native integration into LeRobot — Hugging Face's open-source robotics framework. Clone the repo, pip install, and you get teleoperation, demonstration recording, and training with ACT, Diffusion Policy, PI0, GR00T N1.5, and every other policy in the LeRobot ecosystem.

This is a LeRobot plugin, not a fork. Your arm stays up to date with the latest LeRobot features automatically.

Early Access: The AIRA plugin is under active development and has not been fully tested by the community yet. Expect rough edges. Contributions, bug reports, and feedback are very welcome.

Safety Notice: AIRA uses high-torque motors (up to 35 Nm peak) that can cause injury or damage if misconfigured. You must configure and test every motor individually before assembling the arm. Always keep one hand on the power switch during first tests. You build and operate AIRA entirely at your own risk. See the Assembly Guide for the full safety protocol.

Demo

Teleoperation with the leader arm → autonomous policy execution

Interactive 3D CAD Models (Autodesk Fusion 360)

AIRA — Follower Arm Damiao CAN bus motors

AIRA — Leader Arm Dynamixel XL330 servos

Click images above for fully interactive 3D viewer · Also available as downloadable STEP files in /hardware

Features

• 6+1 Degrees of Freedom — 6-DoF arm plus 1-DoF gripper for full workspace coverage
• LeRobot Native — plugin architecture, not a fork. ACT, Diffusion Policy, PI0, GR00T N1.5 out of the box
• Damiao CAN Bus Motors — J8009P (20/35 Nm) for the base, J4340P (9/27 Nm) for mid-arm, J4310P (3/12.5 Nm) for wrist and gripper
• Interactive Setup Wizard — aira-setup walks you through motor-by-motor configuration. No terminal expertise needed
• MIT Impedance Control — compliant position tracking on the follower for smooth, safe operation (force feedback planned)
• 3D Printable — print the frame at home, order a verified kit, or upgrade to CNC aluminum

Hardware

Component	Gear Ratio	Rated / Peak Torque	Rated / Peak Current	Qty	Purpose
Damiao J8009P	9:1	20 Nm / 35 Nm	20A / 50A	2	Base + Link1 (follower)
Damiao J4340P	40:1	9 Nm / 27 Nm	2.5A / 8A	2	Link2 + Link3 (follower)
Damiao J4310P	10:1	3 Nm / 12.5 Nm	2.5A / 7.5A	3	Link4 + Link5 + Gripper (follower)
Dynamixel XL330-M077	—	Serial, 0.13 Nm	—	7	All joints (leader)
USB-CAN adapter	—	e.g. Canable, MKS CANable	—	1	CAN bus interface
RealSense D405	—	Depth camera	—	1	Wrist camera (optional)

Estimated cost: €2,000–€2,500 / $2,200–$2,750 (full teleop kit including shipping & import duties) · Per-part breakdown in hardware/BOM.md

Quick Start

1. Print Parts

See hardware/ASSEMBLY.md for print settings and the full parts list.

2. Install Software

git clone https://github.com/robertorobotics/Nextis-AIRA-3D
cd Nextis-AIRA-3D
pip install -e .

3. Set Up CAN Bus

sudo aira-setup-can

4. Configure Motors (BEFORE Assembly)

Critical: Configure each motor individually on the bench before installing it in the arm. See the Assembly Guide for the full safety protocol.

aira-setup

The wizard walks you through connecting each motor one by one, setting Slave/Master IDs, and calibrating.

5. Assemble the Arm

Only after all motors are configured and verified. See hardware/ASSEMBLY.md.

6. Teleoperate

lerobot-teleoperate \
  --robot.type=aira_follower \
  --teleop.type=aira_leader

7. Record Demonstrations

lerobot-record \
  --robot.type=aira_follower \
  --teleop.type=aira_leader \
  --dataset.repo_id=your-username/pick-and-place \
  --dataset.single_task="pick up the red block"

8. Train a Policy

lerobot-train \
  --policy=act \
  --dataset.repo_id=your-username/pick-and-place

9. Deploy

lerobot-eval \
  --policy.path=outputs/train/act_pick_and_place/checkpoints/last \
  --robot.type=aira_follower

Architecture

lerobot-robot-aira/
├── src/
│   ├── lerobot_robot_aira/           # Main package (robot + motors + CLI)
│   │   ├── motors/
│   │   │   ├── damiao.py             # Damiao CAN bus driver (MIT impedance control)
│   │   │   └── tables.py             # Motor model parameters (J8009P, J4340P, J4310P)
│   │   ├── robots/
│   │   │   └── aira_follower.py      # LeRobot Robot interface → Damiao hardware
│   │   ├── teleoperators/
│   │   │   └── aira_leader.py        # LeRobot Teleoperator → Dynamixel leader arm
│   │   └── cli/
│   │       ├── setup_wizard.py       # aira-setup — interactive motor configuration
│   │       ├── setup_can.py          # aira-setup-can — CAN bus setup
│   │       └── test_motors.py        # aira-test-motors — hardware diagnostics
│   └── lerobot_teleoperator_aira/    # Shim for LeRobot teleoperator discovery
│       └── __init__.py               # Re-exports AiraLeader from main package
├── hardware/                         # STL, STEP, BOM, assembly instructions
├── examples/                         # Step-by-step tutorials
└── tests/

How It Works

AIRA registers with LeRobot's plugin system via pkgutil module scanning. LeRobot discovers any installed package named lerobot_robot_* (for robots) or lerobot_teleoperator_* (for teleoperators). When you run lerobot-teleoperate --robot.type=aira_follower, LeRobot finds lerobot_robot_aira and lerobot_teleoperator_aira automatically — no source code changes needed.

The critical new component is the Damiao CAN bus driver (damiao.py). LeRobot has built-in Feetech and Dynamixel support, but no CAN bus motors. AIRA adds this. The leader arm reuses LeRobot's built-in Dynamixel driver.

Troubleshooting

"No CAN interfaces found"

Plug in your USB-CAN adapter and run sudo aira-setup-can

"Motor did not respond"

Check power supply voltage, CAN bus wiring, termination resistor

"Permission denied on CAN bus"

Run the setup with sudo, or add your user to the can group

Calibration issues

Delete ~/.cache/lerobot_robot_aira/calibration/ and re-run aira-setup

"DynamixelMotorsBus connection failed"

Check USB port: ls /dev/ttyUSB* /dev/ttyACM*

Acknowledgments

AIRA builds on the work of an incredible open-source community:

• LeRobot by Hugging Face — the robotics framework that powers AIRA's software. Every policy, dataset tool, and training recipe just works.
• The Robot Learning Company — gripper design inspiration adapted for AIRA's wrist.
• The open-source robotics community — especially everyone who reached out after the initial launch.

Contributing

This project is open source (Apache 2.0). Contributions welcome:

• Motor model support (new Damiao models)
• Gripper designs
• Camera mount variants
• Training recipes and pretrained policies
• Bug fixes and documentation

Get AIRA Hardware

Don't want to source and print everything yourself? We offer two options:

• Verified Kit — everything included (3D-printed frame, motors, electronics). Just assemble.
• Aluminium Premium Arm — CNC aluminum build, professionally assembled and calibrated. Direct support from Nextis.

Both available at nextis.tech/hardware.

License

Apache 2.0 — see LICENSE.

Disclaimer: AIRA is provided as-is, without warranty of any kind. High-torque robotic arms are inherently dangerous. You are solely responsible for safe assembly, configuration, and operation. Nextis and the contributors to this project accept no liability for any damage, injury, or loss resulting from the use of this hardware or software.

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_{Built with care by Nextis}

Files in this package

• CAD source: Adapter Gripper.step, Base Leader.step, Base.step, D405 Holder.step, Gripper Base.step, Gripper Insert Leader.step, Link1.step, Link7_Leader.step, Pinion Gripper.step, Rack Gripper.step, Soft Finger Gripper.step, link4.step (+18 more)
• Images: aira_hero.jpeg, cad_leader_preview.png, cad_preview.png

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Source & license

• Original author: robertorobotics
• Source repository: https://github.com/robertorobotics/Nextis-AIRA-3D
• License: Apache-2.0

Imported into the CommunityCAD Archive with attribution preserved. All rights remain with the original author under the stated license.