So, the delta robot may pick up an item and then move it to its required location. Next, it might set the item down in the target place and orientation. For example, a delta robot may pick electronic components randomly orientated on a conveyor belt and assemble them onto a circuit board presented to the work cell via a second conveyor belt. Multiple delta robots often work simultaneously along a line with two parallel continuously moving conveyor belts for on-the-fly pick- and-place. Centralized control systems coordinate the systems of such installations — with heavy reliance on machine vision to inform robot control routines. Each individual pick and place operation can take just a fraction of a second to complete. With several delta robots operating at the same time, very rapid assembly and packaging is possible. Delta uses specific to electronics manufacturing Electronics manufacturing relies on delta robots for the transport and handling of printed circuit boards (PCBs) and components, PCB assembly, and device assembly.
PCBs are layered with nonconductive substrates and copper layers. Circuit layouts are typically printed on the board with lithography; then the rest of the copper layer is chemically etched away. Nonconductive solder masks are then applied to prevent solder bridging between closely positioned components and copper traces. PCB assembly involves placing and then soldering through-hole or surface mount technology (SMT) components. Older PCBs only used through-hole components,
but this is now uncommon. Through-hole components have leads inserted through holes in the board and are soldered on the opposite side for greater mechanical strength, but this extra process makes them more difficult to assemble. No wonder SMT components now dominate for smaller components; they’re much better suited to highly automated volume manufacturing. That said, some through-hole mounting is often still required for larger components such as capacitors, transformers, and connectors.
Figure 5: Electronics boards ride a conveyor through an assembly work cell. (Image source: Getty Images)
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