Delta6: A Low-Cost, 6-DOF Force-Sensing Flexible End-Effector

TL;DR

Delta6 is an affordable, easy-to-assemble 6-DOF force/torque sensor using antagonistic springs and magnetic encoders, validated through robotic tasks and open-source sharing.

Contribution

It introduces a low-cost, 3D-printed force sensor with high robustness and adjustable bandwidth, suitable for contact-rich robotic applications.

Findings

Achieves peak forces above +/-14.4 N and torques of +/-0.33 N.m per axis.

Attains 99th-percentile error of 7% FS without calibration, reduced to 3.8% FS with lightweight models.

Open-source design validated on multiple robotic tasks.

Abstract

This paper presents Delta6, a low-cost, six-degree-of-freedom (6-DOF) force/torque end-effector that combines antagonistic springs with magnetic encoders to deliver accurate wrench sensing while remaining as simple to assemble as flat-pack furniture. A fully 3D-printed prototype, assembled entirely from off-the-shelf parts, withstands peak forces above +/-14.4 N and torques of +/-0.33 N.m per axis; these limits can be further extended by leveraging the proposed parametric analytical model. Without calibration, Delta6 attains a 99th-percentile error of 7% full scale (FS). With lightweight sequence models, the error is reduced to 3.8% FS by the best-performing network. Benchmarks on multiple computing platforms confirm that the device's bandwidth is adjustable, enabling balanced trade-offs among update rate, accuracy, and cost, while durability, thermal drift, and zero-calibration tests confirm its robustness. With Delta6 mounted on a robot arm governed by a force-impedance controller, the system successfully performs two contact-rich tasks: buffing curved surfaces and tight assemblies. Experiments validate the design, showing that Delta6 is a robust, low-cost alternative to existing 6-DOF force sensing solutions. Open-source site: https://wings-robotics.github.io/delta6 .