Project Files of 4-DOF Robot Arm Library for Proteus Simulation

4-DOF ROBOT ARM LIBRARY FOR PROTEUS SIMULATION - V1.0 (a desktop arm on four SG90 servos, with a pop-up)
Designed by The Engineering Projects
www.TheEngineeringProjects.com

IMPORTANT LINKS
Article (read it first - pictures, step by step, every feature explained):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/11/4-dof-robot-arm-library-for-proteus.html
Report a bug or suggest a feature (our forum):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library
The demo runs on our Arduino UNO V4.0 (included) - working LEDs, RESET and a
built-in serial monitor, no Virtual Terminal to wire - its own article:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
The servos are the SG90 of our SG90 Servo Motor library (the same physics):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/sg90-servo-motor-library-for-proteus-v1-0.html
Support us (the libraries are free):
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

FILE STRUCTURE
4-DOF-Robot-Arm-TEP-v1.0/
|-- Proteus Library Files/
|   |-- ArduinoV4TEP.LIB                              201.9 KB   TEP Arduino boards V4.0 (UNO) -> LIBRARY
|   |-- TEPROBOTARM.LIB                                11.0 KB   the library -> LIBRARY folder
|-- Proteus Model Files/
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   the Arduino board model -> MODELS folder
|   |-- TEPROBOTARM.DLL                               317.5 KB   the model -> MODELS folder
|-- Proteus Simulation/
|   |-- RobotArm_Demo.hex                              22.0 KB   the demo firmware
|   |-- ROBOTARM-SG90-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj              18.1 KB   the demo project
|   |-- TEPARDUINO.DLL                                883.5 KB   copy of the board model
|   |-- TEPROBOTARM.DLL                               317.5 KB   copy of the model
|-- Arduino Code/
|   |-- RobotArm_Demo/RobotArm_Demo.ino                 3.3 KB   the demo sketch (source of the .hex)
|-- README.txt                                        ~13.9 KB   this file
Total: 2.61 MB (unzipped). The C++ source code of the models is not included.

WHAT IS IT?
The common 4-DOF desktop robot arm - the small laser-cut acrylic arm with four SG90 micro servos
that so many students build - drawn at
true scale from the side (the base with its servo and turntable, the 80 mm upper arm, the 80 mm
forearm, the gripper kept level, 45 mm to
its tip; our own drawing, no maker's mark):
  * BASE turns the arm (0 - 180 deg, 90 = straight ahead); SHOULDER lifts the upper arm (its angle
    from the horizontal); ELBOW sets the
    forearm (90 = level); GRIP opens and closes the claw (60 closed, 120 open). The joints stop at
    their limits: shoulder 40 - 150, elbow
    20 - 160 deg (our figures for this kit).
  * Each servo is an SG90 (our SG90 library's physics): a pulse every 20 ms, 544 - 2400 us = 0 - 180
    deg with the Arduino Servo library,
    1.8 kg.cm, 0.1 s / 60 deg at 4.8 V; V+ 5 V for all four.
  * A 16 mm block waits on the pick stand straight ahead: closing the claw on it picks it up (the
    claw stops on the block and pushes, its
    current stays up), opening drops it - on the place stand 60 deg to the left, or onto the table.
    The arm's parts (ARM g) and the block
    (OBJECT g) load the shoulder and the elbow.
  * On the sheet the arm moves with the servos (the side view turns with the base). Click it at Run
    for the pop-up: the side view in the
    arm's plane, the top view with the stands and the block, the four servos with their limits;
    graphs, an event log and a check page.
The body is drawn as on the real part and to true scale against our Arduino.
The TEP signature and the pop-up are TEP additions.

ONE DEVICE (search "ROBOTARM" in Pick Devices):
  ROBOTARM4DOFTEP  "4-DOF Robot Arm V1.0" in TEPROBOTARM.LIB (Electromechanical > Motors), prefix M,
  model TEPROBOTARM.DLL (mixed: the four
                   signals digital, V+ / GND analog). Pins BASE, SHOULDER, ELBOW, GRIP, V+, GND on
                   the left. The name starts with R so that it
                   sorts after the embedded ARDUINO UNO V4.0.

THE POP-UP
Click the part at Run. Tabs:
    Arm        the side view in the arm's plane (the table, the pick stand, the arm with the
    shoulder and elbow angles, the claw, the block),
               the top view (the reach, the pick spot ahead and the place spot 60 deg left, the arm
               and the block), the four servos (the
               angle on a 0 - 180 bar with the joint's range, the target, the pulse); eight live
               values: the four servos, the tip, the
               block, the supply, the stalls and picks.
    Graphs     the live values over the last 2, 6 or 15 s. Live / Freeze.
    Event log  every change and warning; filters All / Changes / Warnings, Pause, Clear
    Check      what the part is doing and what to look at, each with a verdict (green = fine, amber
    = check, red = wrong)
    Settings   theme, text size, open at Run, window size
    Help       report a bug, suggest a feature, article, updates, donate, forum; Copy diagnostics
    for a bug report

TEST STATUS
V1.0: verified in Proteus 8.5 on 8 Nov 2026 (the demo project as shipped: an A4 sheet, an Arduino UNO V4.0).
What the runs showed (the model's own numbers and the sketch's monitor):
  * The project loads and starts cleanly; the 8 s program runs in about three minutes on our PC
    (with the pop-up open).
  * The arm on 5 V, BASE D9, SHOULDER D10, ELBOW D11, GRIP D6 (the Arduino Servo library, smooth
    moves). Home: the tip 125 mm out, 135 mm up,
    0.02 A. Down to the block: shoulder 58.9 / elbow 40.9 deg, the tip 139 mm out and 63 mm up, the
    jaws around the block.
  * The pick: the claw (asked for 60 deg) meets the block in 38 ms and stops on it at 92 deg (16 mm)
    - PICKED at 2.420 s; holding, it pushes:
    0.72 A for the four servos. Lift: shoulder 89.6, elbow 67.7 deg (69.9 asked - the load), the tip
    120 mm out, 105 mm up; turn: base to 150.
  * The place: lowered at 60 deg left (shoulder 60.0, elbow 42.6, the tip 65 mm up); the claw opens
    - DROPPED on the place stand at 6.298 s
    (open 18 mm), 0.04 A again. Home: 126 mm out, 133 mm up, the block on the place stand; 1 pick, 1
    drop, no stalls.
  * The pop-up: Arm (the side view, the top view, the four servos), Graphs, Event log, Check - all
    four followed the run; on the sheet the
    arm moved with the servos and carried the block.

INSTALLATION (about 2 minutes)
1. Close Proteus. Extract the WHOLE ZIP to a normal folder (e.g. Desktop).
2. Copy everything in "Proteus Library Files" (TEPROBOTARM.LIB and our Arduino library V4.0,
ArduinoV4TEP.LIB, with the ARDUINO UNO V4.0 used by the demo) to the LIBRARY folder of Proteus, for
example:
     C:\Program Files (x86)\Labcenter Electronics\Proteus 8 Professional\LIBRARY
   (use the folder that already holds Proteus's own .LIB files).
3. Copy TEPROBOTARM.DLL and TEPARDUINO.DLL from "Proteus Model Files" to the MODELS folder
(...\Proteus 8 Professional\MODELS).
4. Delete TEPROBOTARM.IDX from the LIBRARY folder if it is there (Proteus makes a new index).
5. Start Proteus. In Pick Devices (P) search "ROBOTARM".

RUN THE DEMO
"Proteus Simulation\ROBOTARM-SG90-ArduinoUnoV4.pdsprj" (an A4 sheet) - keep the .hex file and the
DLLs beside the project.
  ARD1:   Arduino UNO V4.0 running RobotArm_Demo.hex, its serial monitor built in (window "TEP
  Arduino UNO - ARD1").
  M1:     the arm on 5 V: BASE D9, SHOULDER D10, ELBOW D11, GRIP D6 (the Arduino Servo library).
  1. Home; down to the block (smooth moves, a little every 20 ms); close the claw (it picks the
  block); lift; turn left (base 150).
  2. Lower onto the place stand; open the claw (the block stays on the stand); home.
Closed the monitor? Click the UNO's USB port.

WIRING (the same in Proteus and on a real board)
  V+ / GND 5 V for the four servos from a supply that gives 2 A or more (never the UNO's 5 V pin),
  GND also to the controller's ground.
  The four signals to four pins (any pins with the Servo library).
REAL HARDWARE:
 * Power the four servos from their own 5 V supply: together they can draw over 2 A when they start
   or stall.
 * Move the joints together in small steps: a jump of every servo at once shakes the arm and throws
   the object.
 * Find each joint's real limits on your kit before you write them into the sketch: past them a
   servo stalls against the acrylic.

THE DEMO SKETCH ON THE SERIAL MONITOR (RobotArm_Demo V1.0, 9600 baud)
The sketch runs its program, then waits. Type a command:
  b 120    base to 120     s 70    shoulder to 70     e 60    elbow to 60     g 90    the claw to 90
EXPECTED MONITOR OUTPUT
  4-DOF robot arm, 4 x SG90 - The Engineering Projects
  BASE D9, SHOULDER D10, ELBOW D11, GRIP D6; grip 60 closed, 110 open

PROPERTIES (double-click the part > Edit Properties)
  Object (OBJECT)                      the block's mass, g (20)
  Arm (ARM)                            the arm's acrylic parts and the gripper servo, g (50)
Every run starts again from the properties.

LINKS.INI (OPTIONAL)
The Help page cards of the pop-up open web pages. To point them somewhere else without a new DLL,
put a text file named links.ini next to TEPROBOTARM.DLL with lines KEY=URL, for example:
  ARTICLE=https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/...
Keys: WEBSITE, FORUM, BUG_REPORT, FEATURE_REQUEST, ARTICLE, USER_GUIDE,
UPDATE_CHECK, DONATE. Only http:// and https:// links are used; lines starting
with # are comments.

TROUBLESHOOTING
* Nothing moves: no pulses (the Servo library's attach() missing), or V+ under 3 V.
* STALLED: a joint is asked past its limit (shoulder 40 - 150, elbow 20 - 160, claw 60 - 120).
* The claw closes but nothing is picked: the jaws are not around the block - move the tip to the
  block first (138 mm out, 60 mm up).
* The part is not simulated: TEPROBOTARM.DLL is missing from MODELS and from the project folder.
* The part is not simulated: TEPROBOTARM.DLL is missing from MODELS and from the project folder. No
  UNO / no monitor window: TEPARDUINO.DLL is missing, or click the UNO's USB port.

BUG REPORTS AND FEATURE REQUESTS
Please post them in our forum with a screenshot, the Serial Monitor text, the
simulation log and the pop-up's Copy diagnostics text:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/forum/category/motor-driver-proteus-library

SUPPORT US
This library is free. If it saves you time, please support our work:
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/donate

WEBSITE
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/

LICENCES AND THIRD-PARTY NOTES
* The model (TEPROBOTARM.DLL), the symbols and artwork, the other parts of ours in the demo and the
  Arduino Library V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, with its built-in TEP Serial Monitor
  Advance) are made by The Engineering Projects. The models use only standard Windows libraries; no
  Visual C++ redistributable is needed.
  The C++ source code is not included.
* Arduino UNO V4.0 (ArduinoV4TEP.LIB / TEPARDUINO.DLL, our Arduino Library V4.0 - its
  microcontroller is Proteus's own AVR model): The Engineering Projects,
  https://www.theengineeringprojects.com/2026/10/arduino-uno-library-for-proteus-v40.html
* The .hex file is built from the demo sketch and the Arduino AVR core 1.8.6, which includes
  LGPL-licensed code; its source code is available at
  https://github.com/arduino/ArduinoCore-avr/tree/1.8.6
* Proteus is a product of Labcenter Electronics and is not included. Arduino is a trademark of Arduino SA.
  This library is not made or endorsed by Arduino or Labcenter.

REBUILDING THE FIRMWARE (OPTIONAL)
The HEX file is supplied; Arduino IDE is not needed to run the demo. To edit the sketch, open
Arduino Code\RobotArm_Demo\RobotArm_Demo.ino, select Arduino Uno and use Sketch > Export Compiled
Binary. Replace the simulation's .hex with the exported HEX. The sketch needs 8,004 bytes of flash
and 335 bytes of RAM.

MODEL SCOPE AND LIMITS
Modelled: four SG90 servos (our SG90 library's physics), the joints' limits, the arm's weights and
the block's on the shoulder and elbow (as
brakes - our simplification), the claw stopping on the block, the pick and the drop, the supply
current.
Not modelled: the acrylic's flex, the gears' backlash, collisions between the arm and the base or
the stands, the block's own motion
when it falls.

VERSION
TEP 4-DOF Robot Arm library V1.0 (Nov 2026). Device ROBOTARM4DOFTEP (TEPROBOTARM.LIB /
TEPROBOTARM.DLL). Demo sketch RobotArm_Demo V1.0 (the Arduino Servo library). Demo board: ARDUINO
UNO V4.0 (TEP Arduino Library V4.0) with its built-in serial monitor.