CONTROLING DELTA X 2 ROBOT WITH ARDUINO

This tutorial will guide you on using an Arduino board to control the Delta X 2 robot draw a spiral through the Serial Port beside the main USB port on the robot body.

Prerequisites:

  • Delta X 2 Robot Kit
  • Arduino Board (e.g., Arduino Pro Mini, Arduino Uno)
  • USB Cable
  • Any Arduino IDE installed on your computer (this tutorial use Visual Code with PlatformIO extension).
  • A button and wires.
  • USB to TTL module.

Step 1: Wiring Diagram

schematic

Step 2: Write the Sketch for Arduino

  • The idea is when the button pressed, the Arduino will create a G-code queue and send it via Serial Port to control the robot drawing the spiral.

  • You can visit my Github to DOWNLOAD the project.

  • To calculate the spiral dimensions, you need to consider both the working range of the robot and the specifications of your own system. Please exercise caution when identifying the z_safe value, ensuring that the end effector does not come into contact with any obstacles along its path.

Programming

First, we create queues to store G-codes. 

#include <Arduino.h>
#include "Vector/Vector.h"

String GcodeArray[20];
String InitGcodeArray[20];

Vector<String> InitGcodeQueue;
Vector<String> GcodeQueue;

Create init G-code queue, this queue code includes initialization commands, homing, setting feedrate and acceleration, and more.

void create_init_gcode_queue()
{
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("G28");
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("M203 S" + String((int)feedrate));
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("M204 A" + String((int)accel));
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("M205 S" + String(begin_vel));
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("M360 E0");
  InitGcodeQueue.push_back("G01 X0 Y0 Z" + String(z_safe));
}

Calculate and create a spiral queue:

void create_gcode_queue(int start_radius, int stop_radius, int step)
{
  GcodeQueue.push_back("M03");
  GcodeQueue.push_back("G01 X" + String(start_radius) + " Y0 Z" + String(z_exe));

  int current_x = start_radius;
  int current_i = start_radius;
  String gc = "";

  while (abs(current_x) <= stop_radius - step)
  {
    if (current_x > 0)
    {
      current_i = -current_x - step / 2;
      current_x = -current_x - step;
    }
    else
    {
      current_i = -current_x + step / 2;
      current_x = -current_x + step;
    }

    gc = "G02 X" + String(current_x) + " Y0 I" + String(current_i) + " J0";
    GcodeQueue.push_back(gc);
  }

  GcodeQueue.push_back("M05");
  GcodeQueue.push_back("G01 X0 Y0 Z" + String(z_safe));
}

Then check the button pressing event in loop function:

void loop()
{
  if (millis() - lastMillis >= 200)
  {
    lastMillis = millis();

    if (!digitalRead(2))
    {
      if (stt == FREE)
      {
        stt = EXECUTING;
        create_gcode_queue(start_radius, stop_radius, step);
        send_exe_gcodes();
      }
    }
  }
  ...
}

Conclusion

Controlling the Delta X 2 robot using Arduino or any device that supports Serial Port communication is straightforward and versatile. This method proves to be valuable for various automation systems that involve Delta Robots, offering a flexible and accessible approach to robotic control. Whether you are working with Arduino or other compatible devices, the provided code serves as a foundation for implementing and customizing control functionalities for the Delta X 2 robot within diverse automation applications.