The setup guide covers software only, so the frame, wiring and battery pack have to be built from the CAD, PCB files and short notes, and there is no license on any of the files.
ElectroPup is a 4.5 kg, 3D-printed quadruped with 12 LKMTECH MG4010E-i10 geared BLDC actuators on CAN bus, a Raspberry Pi 5 and a custom 6S 18650 battery pack. Its control stack is plain Python with inverse kinematics and Bezier-curve gaits, driven by a PS4 gamepad, plus a MuJoCo model and a web dashboard that overlays the simulated robot on live motor feedback. The frame uses carbon fiber tubes between two printed hip plates, and two small custom PCBs handle power, CAN wiring and an optional status display.
At a glance
| Parts cost | $2,000 parts list · Total of the project's parts list, of which $1,608 is the 12 motors. It excludes shipping, tariffs and tax, and lists a Raspberry Pi 4 where the README specifies a Pi 5 source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | 4/5 Advanced · Needs two custom PCBs with SMD soldering, a hand-built 6S Li-ion pack, crimped JST motor harnesses and per-motor setup in a Windows-only tool, with no step-by-step assembly guide. |
| Build time | About 29 hours of 3D printing, with no assembly time stated source ↗ |
| Tools needed | 3D printer (about 29 hours and 834 g of tough PLA on a Prusa MK4S), soldering, including SMD parts on the two PCBs (fabricated by JLCPCB), JST crimper for the motor cables, nickel spot welder for the 18650 battery pack, benchtop power supply, heat-set insert tool (optional), Windows PC for the motor configuration tool |
| Motors | 12 LKMTECH (LingKong) MG4010E-i10v3 CAN actuators, 1:10 planetary, 2.5 N·m rated and 4.5 N·m peak, 238 g each |
| Controller | Raspberry Pi 5 with a Waveshare 2-channel isolated CAN HAT (one bus per six motors), plus an optional STM32F401 Black Pill auxiliary board with LCD |
| Sensors | BNO055 9-axis IMU (README lists using it for smoother gaits as a future improvement), motor encoders |
| Published | ✓ Parts list✓ CAD/STL✗ Assembly guide✓ Wiring✓ Software✗ Video GitHub README plus a docs folder (software setup guide, parts list and print-time spreadsheets, design and assembly notes as text files), STL and STEP files, public Onshape documents and KiCad PCB projects |
| Activity | Last update 2026-07-30 · 255 GitHub stars · 32 forks on GitHub, one open issue (no replies), questions directed to GitHub issues |
| Kits | None known |
Licenses
No license is stated for the design files. They are published for building, but without a license the right to copy, modify or redistribute them is not granted.
| Design files | None found for the STL, STEP, KiCad and Onshape files source ↗ |
|---|---|
| Code | None found (no LICENSE file, and the GitHub API reports no license) source ↗ |
| Documentation | None found source ↗ |
Builder notes
Practical points from the project's issue tracker, forum and docs, each linked to its source.
- The docs/setup.md guide covers only software (Raspberry Pi OS, CAN HAT overlays, gamepad pairing, services, UI and MuJoCo). Mechanical assembly is limited to bolt lists, cable lengths and tips on gluing the carbon tube inserts in docs/notes.txt, so assembly has to be worked out from the CAD. source ↗
- Each motor has to be configured over UART with LKMTECH's Windows-only tool before final wiring, since some settings such as torque limits and error thresholds cannot be set over CAN. The motor firmware is closed. source ↗
- Each CAN bus serves six motors, which gives an average update rate of about 70 Hz per motor from Python on the Pi. Measured loop times in the notes are about 12 to 17 ms per bus. source ↗
- The 254 mm carbon fiber tubes are an uncommon length. Using standard 250 mm tubes needs a shortened power PCB or a small slot added to the hip plates. source ↗
- The PCB folders list known fixes for a next revision. On the power board, the 5 V terminal blocks the power switch when a Pi 5 is fitted, and the auxiliary board's LCD holes are slightly misaligned. An open issue also reports a byte-decoding bug in the motor position read code, with a suggested fix. source ↗
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