The Delta Arm is functionally very simple. All that is required is that it has specific distance between the rotation point of the stepper motor and the pin joint of the lower arm linkage. For our application, we calculated this length to be 210mm, meaning the arm must accommodate this distance while also being structurally stable. It is important to note that the arm must be able to maintain accuracy during movement in order to preserve the accuracy of the end effector. This means that the design must limit any distortion or elastic effects of the material.

The stepper face was an interesting model to try and design as it must be stiff (any motor movement will contribute to small inaccuracies) and it must be able to hold a motor of a mass around 1kg. The result was a 3 point mounting system that was extruded to have the NEMA17 face profile. This would then be able to be mounted to the frame/skeleton through 2 holes on the horizontal plane and 1 on the vertical plane. The overall effect is a very stiff, rugged mount that is able to hold our stepper motors securely

This is the actual mechanical mount model for the end effector. This was modeled after Fanuc M1ia Delta series robot end effector. The curved mounting joints were created so that there was an extra offset in the vertical direction (so that the end effector could read the bottom easily) and the material was shaped so that there were strategic cutouts to preserve the structural integrity while saving material.