An example of Stewart platform

Two hexapod positioners.

Another depiction

A Stewart platform, also known as a hexapod positioner, is a kind of parallel manipulator using an octahedral assembly of struts. A Stewart platform has six degrees of freedom (x, y, z, pitch, roll, & yaw). Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 879 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions None. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 879 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) Other versions None. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... In mechanical engineering, aeronautical engineering and robotics, degrees of freedom (DOF) describes flexibility of motion. ...

There are six independently actuated legs, where the lengths of the legs are changed to position and orient the platform. The forward kinematics problem, an equation which given the leg lengths, finds the position and orientation of the platform, has 16 solutions. However, the inverse kinematics problem (i.e. given the position and orientation of the platform, find the required leg lengths) has a unique and very simple solution. In physics, kinematics is the branch of classical mechanics concerned with describing the motions of objects without considering the factors that cause or affect the motion. ... Inverse kinematics is the process of determining the movement of interconnected segments of a body or model. ...

Stewart platforms have applications in machine tool technology, crane technology, underwater research, air-to-sea rescue, flight simulation, satellite dish positioning, telescopes and orthopedic surgery. There are very few or no other articles that link to this one. ...

James S. Albus of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has developed a crane, known as RoboCrane®, which uses the Stewart platform technology. Dr. James Sacra Albus is a Senior NIST Fellow, Founder and former Chief of the Intelligent Systems Division of the Manufacturing Engineering Laboratory at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). ... NIST logo The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST, formerly known as The National Bureau of Standards) is a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration. ... As a non-regulatory agency of the United States Department of Commerce’s Technology Administration, the National Institute of Standards (NIST) develops and promotes measurement, standards, and technology to enhance productivity, facilitate trade, and improve the quality of life. ... The Robocrane® is a kind of manipulator resembling a Stewart platform but using an octahedral assembly of cables instead of struts. ...

Geodetic Technology trademarked "hexapod" for a Stewart platform in a machine tool context. A trademark or trade mark[1] is a distinctive sign of some kind which is used by an individual, business organization or other legal entity to uniquely identify the source of its products and/or services to consumers, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities. ...

Dr. Charles Taylor utilized the Stewart platform to develop the Taylor Spatial Frame [1], an external fixator used in orthopedic surgery for the correction of bone deformities and treatment of complex fractures.

The Stewart platform was first reported in a paper by V. E. Gough in 1956. The name of Stewart was attached to this architecture because Gough's earlier work (and a photograph of his platform) were mentioned in the reviewers' remarks to a paper by D. Stewart published in 1965; in that paper, Stewart presents another hybrid design, with three legs having two motors each.

References

• D. Stewart, A Platform with Six Degrees of Freedom, UK Institution of Mechanical Engineers Proceedings 1965-66, Vol 180, Pt 1, No 15.
• Gough, V. E., Contribution to discussion of papers on research in Automobile Stability, Control and Tyre performance, Proc. Auto Div. Inst. Mech. Eng., pages 392-394, 1956-1957.

External links

• National Institute of Standards and Technology
• LME Hexapod Machine
• The True Origins of Parallel Robots
• SYMETRIE - Positioning, Measurement and Motion Hexapod System
• Hexapod Six-Axis Precision Micro-Positioning Systems

See also

• Parallel manipulator
• Robot kinematics

The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Robot kinematics is the study of the motion of robots. ...

Metalworking: v • d • e
CNC, CAD, and CAM:	2.5D | CAD | CAE | CAM | CNC | G-code | Numerical control | Stewart platform Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. ... 2. ... “CAD” redirects here. ... Computer-aided Engineering analysis (often referred to as CAE) is the application of computer software in engineering to analyze the robustness and performance of components and assemblies. ... Computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) is the use of a wide range of Product Lifecycle Management computer-based software tools that assist engineers, Tool and die makers and CNC machinists, in the manufacture or prototyping of product components. ... A CNC Turning Center A CNC Milling Machine The abbreviation CNC stands for computer numerical control, and refers specifically to a computer controller that reads G-code instructions and drives the machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate metal components by the selective removal of metal. ... G Code is a scheme to assist in the recording of television programs on video recorders. ... Numerical control or numerically controlled (NC) machine tools are machines that are automatically operated by commands that are received by their processing units. ...
Metalworking topics:   Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. ...	Casting | CNC | Cutting tools | Drilling and threading | Fabrication | Finishing | Grinding | Jewellery | Lathe (tool) | Machining | Machine tooling | Measuring | Metalworking | Hand tools | Metallurgy | Milling | Occupations | Press tools | Smithing | Terminology | Welding Casting may be used to create artistic sculptures Casting is a manufacturing process by which a molten material such as metal or plastic is introduced into a mold, allowed to solidify within the mold, and then ejected or broken out to make a fabricated part. ... A CNC Turning Center A CNC Milling Machine The abbreviation CNC stands for computer numerical control, and refers specifically to a computer controller that reads G-code instructions and drives the machine tool, a powered mechanical device typically used to fabricate metal components by the selective removal of metal. ... a Cutting Tool, in the context of Metalworking is any tool that is used to remove metal from the workpiece by means of shear deformation. ... Drilling is the process of using a drill bit in a drill to produce holes. ... A typical steel fabrication shop Fabrication, when used chas an industrial term, applies to the building of machines and structures by cutting, shaping and assembling components made from raw materials. ... Metalworking finishing is the activity of making things out of metal in a skillful manner. ... Rotating abrasive wheel on a bench grinder. ... Amber jewellery in the form of pendants. ... Conventional metalworking lathe In woodturning, metalworking, metal spinning, and glassworking, a lathe is a machine tool which spins a block of material so that when abrasive, cutting, or deformation tools are applied to the block, it can be shaped to produce an object which has rotational symmetry about an axis... A lathe is a common tool used in machining. ... A machine tool is a powered mechanical device, typically used to fabricate metal components of machines by the selective removal of metal. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ... Turned chess pieces Metalworking is the craft and practice of working with metals to create structures or machine parts. ... Metalworking hand tools are hand tools that are used in the metalworking field. ... Metallurgy is a domain of materials science and of materials engineering that studies the physical and chemical behavior of metallic elements, their intermetallic compounds, and their mixtures, which are called alloys. ... Endmills for a milling machine. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Smith (metalwork). ... Power press with a fixed barrier guard A press, or a machine press is a tool used to work metal (typically steel) by changing its shape and internal structure. ... A smith, or metalsmith, is a person involved in the shaping of metal objects. ... This article needs to be wikified. ... Welding is a fabrication process that joins materials, usually metals or thermoplastics, by causing coalescence. ...