Pereira, D.Leite, M.Ferreira, M.Machado, D.V. Dionísio, R.Cláudio, R. A.2024-02-142024-02-142023978-3-031-33889-2http://hdl.handle.net/10400.26/49817Additive Manufacturing has been extensively used in the last years for prototyping and small series production of functional parts. One of the most popular processes is material extrusion, where a material is extruded through a nozzle, being the part created layer by layer. In this work, an advanced 3D printer is presented, build by the authors, based in a Delta Robot configuration, able to produce parts with 400 mm diameter and up to 850 mm height. The chosen concept provides a very stiff structure with ease of access to all components. A high temperature water-cooled print head (that can reach 500 °C) and a closed heated chamber makes this printer able to produce large size parts with some advanced thermoplastic materials. To improve accuracy, a new sensor based in a load cell with specific signal conditioning is proposed for z-probe and to accurately determine some characteristics of the Delta mechanism. The principal features of this new sensor are compared with a previous assembled sensor (IR). A careful assembly and non-clearance mechanisms with the new sensor proposed are expected to improve print quality.engbook part