Spherical mechanism, with adjustable center of rotation

In a MSc thesis conducted at DEMCON Focal, a specially optical mount is designed for manipulation of an optical component in a Fizeau interferometer. The spherical mechanism is used to align a return optic to a beam of laserlight in a way that the center of the lens still aligns with the optical axis of the beam, yielding faster alignment and smaller induced distortion. This new designed optical mount allows for a spherical motion around a remote center of rotation. The mechanism is based on a trapezoidal mechanism with the addition that the remote center of rotation (RCR) is not fixed, but can be adjusted by changing the orientation of the legs of the trapezoidal mechanism. Deflection of the end-effector of the mechanism is flexure based using novel designed flexures integrated in these legs of the mechanism