I am certainly not an engineer or a programmer (note: we deliberately assigned this review to a reviewer without engineering or programming skills in order to check on how easy or hard it is for someone with such a restricted background as far as electronics and programming go to mess with a robotic arm, the Dobot Magician in this particular case). However, I do work closely with one, so all of my questions were readily answered. That said, I am a rookie when it comes to robots, and the same applies to most users, and in this review, it was my goal to provide you with my insights into the Dobot Magician as I gathered them.

Overall, the Dobot Magician is of great built quality. Combined with a fair price and a great number of end effectors, you are left with a multi-faceted tool. People with advanced electronics and programming knowledge can quickly get ahead by creating their own end effectors and code, thanks to the open source design. In the meantime, there is an endless list of commands in the online library you can download the code for, though uploading and sharing your own code is also possible.

Learning how to program or use the robotic arm certainly takes a lot of time. After all, it is a machine like any other, and it takes time to get used to how everything works. Sure, it looks easy enough when using the game controller or mouse, but it is a lot harder if your goal is to have the Dobot Magician undertake more complicated projects.

The Dobot could also be considered as an option if the goal is to have it act as a learning platform for robotics and their programming and light industrial use. The five provided end effectors - 3D printing, laser engraving, gripper, vacuum suction cup (for pick and place procedures), and pen for drawing - make the Dobot Magician worth the investment, both in terms of time and money, and there are other ways of implementing other modules, even your own. You can also add another Dobot for more complex operations, and a Wifi and Bluetooh module, each, are also included should you want to avoid a cable mess. If you actually use your Dobot arm daily, loose screws are a major headache, and even minor damages to the motors' gears might occur. If you are interested in precision work and a correct execution, you will also have to adjust the Dobot Magician accordingly.