Slabs of raw meat, solar cells, pills, cookies...
When it comes to picking and placing the challenging stuff, a number of industries are turning to one robot type in particular, the Delta. The Delta robot has a unique design that allows it to handle objects delicately, quickly, and precisely.
Daring Delta Robot Design:
The Delta parallel robot is constructed with one rotational and three translational (x, y, z) movements. The arms of the Delta robot are parallelograms, attached with universal joints to a common base, then to one single EOAT platform. Most Delta robots have three parallelogram arms, but some models have four. Each arm is powered by its own motor.
Sweet Delta Moves:
The spider-like arms and general construction of the Delta robots allow them to move with extreme accuracy within a dome-shaped work envelope. They are capable of maintaining extremely low inertia while still reaching high speeds.
The pharmaceutical, food, solar power, and electronic industries appreciate this robot style's rapid transfer capabilities. The Delta-style robot is typically used for pick and place, assembly, and packaging jobs. It is normally installed in an inverted position.
The Birth of the Delta Robot:
Professor Reymond Clavel is credited with inventing and naming the Delta robot in the early 1980s. In 1999, ABB created their Flexpicker IRB 340, which was followed by an updated Flexpicker IRB 360. This particular Delta robot is capable of 150 picks per minute. Another robotics company, Adept, created their own Delta robot, the Adept s650H as well.
Current and Future Delta Robots:
While the Adept and ABB robots are the most common industrial Delta versions right now, this may soon change. For a while, the unique Delta design has remained protected with a series of patents. However, these patents are close to their expiration dates, leaving the door open for new Delta models (such as the FANUC spider robots).
Interested in a Delta robot solution? Contact RobotWorx for pricing and other information - 740-251-4312.
