Delta Parallel Robot driven by Arduino microcontroller boards

[jensoverby]

The servos are completely rebuilt. The original control system is replaced my own control loop, implemented in Arduino Duemilanove boards. Also the default potentiometer is replaced by "AS 5043" encoders from "Austria Microsystems".

[youtube=425,350]Luq8MJjxXjU[/youtube]

The trajectory is generated by a Pathplanner, which considers the Dynamics of the Structure. Maximum allowable torques in joints and maximum allowable forces in Rods are never exceeded. (The robot moves at maximum possible speed, constrained by max torque and max forces in rods).

This video explains why this type of path planning is superior:

[youtube=425,350]MCso9M0gzw4[/youtube]

Delta robots are not that difficult, and can be built by inexpensive components..

[corrado33]

From a 3 second google search, even though that thing looks like it's jumping, it's really just another way to make a 3D robot arm?  I saw what looked like a milling machine that had something like this.

[jensoverby]

You are absolutely right. It is just another 3 dof robot, in fact probably one of the most mechanically simple xyz robots one can imagine. Three servos, some carbon fibre rods, and you have a robot, which (because it is a parallel structure) has an very high structural stiffness. The control aspect is more difficult though, because the dynamical model is complex.