Delta Robots in Modern Manufacturing — And Why Simulation Matters More Than Ever

In today’s fast-moving manufacturing environment, speed, precision, and flexibility are everything. As product lifecycles get shorter and customization becomes the norm, manufacturers are under pressure to automate smarter and faster than ever. That’s where Delta Robots come in. Watch the demonstration to explore how to simulate Delta Robots with Siemens Process Simulate to enable precise workflows.

Watch how Process Simulate brings Delta Robot support to life in a bin-picking scenario.

Why Delta Robots?

Delta Robots are purpose-built for high-speed, high-precision pick-and-place operations. Whether it’s food packaging, electronics assembly, or sorting pharmaceuticals, Delta Robots are unmatched in:

And with industries moving toward micro-fulfillment, fast logistics, and just-in-time production, the demand for Delta Robot solutions is only growing. Recent interest from major consumer goods and cosmetics companies highlights growing demand for Delta robot simulation. Applications include validating throughput, optimizing robot count, and ensuring precision material handling — all now achievable with Process Simulate’s out-of-the-box support.

The Simulation Gap

Despite their growing popularity, Delta Robots have long been underrepresented in mainstream simulation tools. Why? Because their kinematics are different. Unlike traditional articulated robots, Delta Robots use parallel linkages and constrained work envelopes — making them harder to simulate without specialized tools.

Process Simulate 2408: Closing the Gap

With version 2408, Process Simulate now natively supports Delta Robots — and that’s a game-changer for manufacturers, integrators, and automation engineers.

What you can now do:

• Simulate and validate Delta workflows using the same intuitive tools as with traditional robots
• Support various Delta configurations — 3-arm, 4-arm, and even 5-DOF setups
• Define and visualize Reach Envelopes, essential for layout planning and collision detection
• Use smart motion logic (like Apply Path Template) to automate complex Pick and Place behavior
• Leverage the Bin Picking operation for flexible parts handling and rapid deployment

By leveraging simulation prior to physical deployment, companies can get to market faster, waste fewer resources, and reduce errors during commissioning. By extending simulation to include Delta Robots, Siemens empowers teams to:

• Make better decisions during cell design and planning
• Validate performance before anything hits the factory floor
• Scale automation projects with fewer surprises

Delta Robots & Offline Programming (OLP)

Process Simulate doesn’t just help you visualize robot behavior — it also supports advanced offline programming (OLP) for Delta Robots. Delta’s unique parallel kinematics and limited degrees of freedom present specific simulation and code generation challenges. With Process Simulate, these are now handled seamlessly.

While current support centers on ABB configurations, the foundation is in place to expand support, with additional vendor libraries to be added as certified content becomes available.

With OLP, users can:

• Generate vendor-specific robot code (e.g., RAPID)
• Validate motion logic in a virtual environment
• Minimize downtime and optimize cycle time without touching the production floor

This means better planning, faster deployment, and fewer surprises during commissioning — even for non-traditional robot architectures like Delta.

Delta Robots are no longer “special cases” in digital manufacturing. With Process Simulate, they’re part of the mainstream — fully integrated, fully capable, and ready to deliver results in any fast-paced, precision-driven production environment. From design to validation, from concept to commissioning — the smart way to automate Delta workflows starts here.