A mainstay of Square One is our six degree-of-freedom “Tri-Sphere” positioning system. The Tri-Sphere is a unique parallel mechanism capable of adjusting an object’s location in space with unprecedented accuracy, precision and resolution. Comprised entirely of prismatic joints, Tri-Sphere manipulators are compact, truly kinematic, and almost infinitely scalable—very large manipulators have been created for the support and alignment of multi-ton superconducting magnets and small versions have been created for the ultra-fine alignment of microscopic crystals.

Unlike conventional parallel manipulators, the extent of a Tri-Sphere’s translational work envelope in the horizontal plane is entirely decoupled from its translational work envelope in the vertical direction. As a result, it is possible to create low profile support systems with exceptionally large work envelopes. The design’s inverse kinematic equations provide a totally flexible method for positioning and orienting an object relative to any point in space. This powerful enabling technology is far superior to conventional stages, hexapods, and goniometers — Tri-Sphere systems are the new technology of choice for complex positioning applications.

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