Modeling and Motion-control for a Light-weight Delta Robot

Abstract

Delta robots are usually used for industrial manufacturing, but heavy weight and expensive price have been obstacles to rapid propagation of robots in the field. The goal of this research is to make light-weight and price-competitive delta robots. To reduce the weight, we used plastic material for the arm link, and to reduce the price, we used a step-motor as the main actuator. First we formulated the equations of inverse kinematics for the designed delta robot and then verified these equations by using multibody-dynamics simulation. An algorithm of motion control was developed and applied to the motion-processing unit using a timer-interrupt of 8 milliseconds. Finally, we tested the performance of the new delta robot by checking its control of motion along line segments.