Delta robot
Delta robots are parallel-arm robots with rod kinetics. The shape of the at least three arms of this industrial robot , which are connected to the base with universal joints , is reminiscent of the Greek letter delta (Δ). Delta robots are light and fast and are widely used for packaging in factories and in assembly.
Layout and function
The axes of the spider-like delta robot interact to form a closed kinematic chain. The base of the delta robot is mounted above the moving parts, i.e. suspended from the ceiling. At least three articulated arms extend downward from there. The ends of these arms are in turn connected to a smaller, triangular platform. The drive technology of this type of robot is special: When the motor located in the base drives the axes of the articulated arms, the platform mounted below moves in X, Y and Z travel paths - visually on the sides of a parallelogram . Depending on the number of degrees of freedom, delta robots can also perform rotational movements. This type of robot can be moved by both a linear and a rotary drive. The advantage of this structure - compared to articulated arm robots - is a high level of accuracy. However, it is also accompanied by a relatively limited work area and a low maximum load. Since the motor is not in the joints, but in the base, the robot arms are very light. This generates a low inertia and thus high achievable speeds and accelerations.
application areas
Due to its high speed, the packaging industry as well as the medical and pharmaceutical industries like to use the delta robot. Even if its stiffness sounds like a disadvantage, hospitals benefit from it during operations. In addition, the delta robot can carry out high-precision assembly work and is often used as a 3D printer . According to Heise, they are used as pick-and-place robots thanks to their precision when gripping and placing objects.
A current practical example: At the beginning of 2018, Harvard University presented an industrial robot a few millimeters in size with only very small measurement errors. The prototype is just as precise and fast as its big brother, which normally works in a cube-shaped box one meter long. The new Delta robot could be used for pick-and-place tasks from computer circuit boards as well as in surgery to compensate for the surgeon's tremors and minimize errors.
Manufacturer
Web links
- Delta robots: structure, functions & manufacturers. Retrieved July 8, 2019 .