Robotics is undoubtedly one of the most influential fields of modern technology in changing the very nature of our society. Parallel Delta robots have for a long time been mainly focused on a niche market; however, compared to serial anthropomorphic robots they present several simplicity and improved dynamics features. Additive manufacturing (AM) and 3D-printing technologies are enabling rapid changes in robotic engineering as we classically know it, allowing for greater creativity and freedom in mechatronics design and innovation. The effective benefits of far-reaching design freedom in terms of geometry, materials, and manufacturing accessibility are now starting to become apparent, answering many complex technical questions and scientific uncertainties that go beyond basic design and functional knowledge and that require engineering skills and scientific analysis. The Delta robot, as one of the most significant industrialized parallel robots due to its simplicity, is considered in this work, which provides an overview of the multidisciplinary aspects of the new Smile.Tech’s 3D-printed and low-cost Delta robot, the Óscar family. We provide a concise analysis of the current state of the art and use of Delta robots, as well as a discussion of the Delta architecture, interface software, and virtual operation environments. The article concludes with a market analysis, a summary of the major manufacturers and currently available Delta models as well as a benchmarking study of their major operating and technical features.

In recent years, there has been a growing interest in and research efforts enabling the use of composite conductive 3D-printing filaments in material extrusion additive manufacturing processes, which can bestow novel and distinctive functions onto 3D-printed components. These composite filaments, in general blending a thermoplastic with carbon-based materials, open up new research and development avenues in electronics and sensors. Additionally, by exploring the underlying piezoresistivity of conductive filaments, they also enable the creation of novel structural components possessing integrated (intrinsic) self-sensing capabilities that can be effectively employed in structural health monitoring of critical components. However, piezoresistivity features require measuring the electrical resistance of structures made with these conductive filaments, which might be hard, especially when measuring small changes in resistance caused by mechanical loads on the component. The goal of this study is to compare the two- and four-probe methods for measuring the electrical resistance of 3D-printed parts and to look at how different types of electrical contacts and bonding may affect electrical resistivity measurement and self-sensing capabilities. The research is conducted on 3D-printed specimens using a conductive composite PLA (polylactic acid) filament from Protopasta. The efficiency of each method and the influence of the bonding and electrodes on the measurements are experimentally analyzed and discussed. Our experiments reveal that the four-probe method consistently yields resistivity values between 15.35 and 16.38 $\mathrm{\Omega }·$cm, while the two-probe method produces significantly higher values (up to 52.92–62.37 $\mathrm{\Omega }·$cm), underscoring the impact of wire and contact resistances on measurement accuracy.

Manual handling and packing of thin metal plates remains a labour-intensive operation in the automotive manufacturing sector, frequently requiring multiple operators and resulting in limited productivity, reduced process repeatability, and ergonomic constraints. This paper presents a preliminary virtual and experimental proof-of-concept for the automation of such a packing task using a Delta robot, motivated by a representative industrial scenario involving automotive heat exchanger plates. The proposed study adopts an intentionally simplified problem formulation to support early-stage feasibility assessment and system design. In the considered scenario, nominal pickup and placement coordinates are predefined in the robot control program. The plates are manually aligned with marked pickup areas, while their actual physical poses are not measured or automatically corrected, allowing the study to focus on the robotic packing stage rather than on perception-based localization. A virtual robotic packing cell is developed using MATLAB-based simulation tools, with emphasis on functional sequence verification, workspace reachability, and end-effector integration. A set of preliminary feasibility indicators is considered, including reachability of the predefined positions, execution of the manipulation sequence, cycle time, end-effector behaviour, and correspondence between the planned and experimentally achieved layouts. The virtual model is used to support planning and preliminary analysis, while a simplified experimental demonstrator is implemented to verify the physical execution of the inclined-tray packing task using representative plate geometries. The experimental results provide a controlled functional feasibility baseline and identify part-presentation accuracy, sensing, calibration, and cycle-time reduction as the main requirements for further development.

Increasing enclosure closure can compromise heat removal in compact robotic joints. This study assesses the thermal limitations of an existing low-cost Delta-robot joint with an additively manufactured ABS enclosure. Under an equivalent constant thermal load of $4.744$ W the predicted steady-state driver temperatures were $79.11°$C with forced ventilation, $145.11°$C with open natural convection, and $172.42°$C with closed natural convection. The driver remained the dominant numerical hotspot, reaching $108.0°$C after 300 s in the closed transient simulation. These predictions exclude thermal radiation and protection-related shutdown; the closed steady-state result, therefore, represents a numerical limiting condition rather than an attainable operating temperature. Preliminary measurements and thermography identified the electronics region as thermally critical and documented shutdown following ventilation removal, but did not provide quantitative CFD validation. The findings establish a baseline for redesigning the joint’s heat-removal paths as environmental protection is increased; IP54 remains a future design target rather than a demonstrated rating.