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Motion Platform Resources
Everything here is something you take away and use — a document for your file, a term you needed to look up, a certificate for a procurement pack, or a straight answer about lead time and shipping. It is organised by what you are trying to do, not by when it was published.
How this section relates to Technology
Two sections, two different jobs
Technology
Explains
How platforms work, how they are designed, which architecture to choose, how to size one. Written to be read.
Resources · you are here
Supplies
Documents, terminology, tools, compliance records and commercial answers. Made to be used.
If you are trying to understand something rather than obtain something, start in Technology instead — that is where the engineering guides live.
Organised by task
By what you need to do, never by publication date.
Nothing behind a wall
No email gate on anything published here.
Honest about gaps
Items not yet available are labelled, not implied.
Answered by engineers
Technical requests do not route through a sales queue.
Start With What You Are Trying to Do
A resource section is only useful if you can find the one thing you came for in a few seconds. These are the six reasons people actually arrive here, in rough order of frequency.
I need a document for my file
Capability catalogue, configuration datasheet, CAD model or certificate — for a tender pack, a design review or an internal approval.
I hit a term I do not know
Gross moving load, tilt coordination, 6-TPS, forward kinematics. Short definitions written for someone reading a specification, not a textbook.
Procurement needs compliance records
Quality system, environmental and safety certification, CE marking, and how to obtain copies for a supplier qualification file.
I need to write a specification
The specification builder assembles your payload, travel, acceleration and duty inputs into a structured block you can paste into an enquiry.
I want to understand how it works
Working principles, mechanism design, architecture comparisons and sizing method. All of that lives in the Technology section.
I have a commercial question
Lead time, packing and shipping, installation support, warranty, spare parts. Practical answers rather than engineering theory.
Documents
Two categories, labelled honestly. Some documents exist now and are sent on request without conditions. Others are produced for your specific configuration, because a generic version would describe a machine nobody receives.
Capability catalogue
Our full engineering and product catalogue: platform families, delivered project types, mechanism and control technology, analysis methods, manufacturing and quality systems.
Configuration datasheet
A datasheet written for your platform: axis travel, payload, acceleration, envelope, interfaces and acceptance criteria — issued once the configuration is established.
STEP
3D CAD model
Envelope and mounting-interface geometry in STEP format, for layout planning, clearance checks and integration into your assembly model.
CERT
Certificates & compliance records
ISO 9001, ISO 14001, ISO 45001, CE and GJB9001C-2017 certificates for supplier qualification and tender documentation.
DOC
Interface & control documentation
Command set, coordinate convention, update rates, state machine and fault behaviour — the document that governs integration with your host.
FAT
Acceptance test records
Factory acceptance documentation: test load, trajectory, reference point, instrumentation, tolerances and measured results, supplied with the platform.
A straight answer about datasheets
We do not publish a library of standard datasheets, and that is deliberate
Most suppliers in this field publish a catalogue of models with fixed specifications. We do not, because we do not build standard platforms. Every platform is engineered against a specific gross moving load, centre-of-gravity height, trajectory and duty cycle — and a generic datasheet would describe a machine that nobody actually receives.
Publishing one anyway would create a familiar problem: you would size your project against figures that turn out not to apply, and discover the gap during the engineering review. We would rather produce a datasheet for the platform you will actually get. With your payload and one representative trajectory, that normally takes a couple of days — about as long as hunting through a generic catalogue for the closest match.
If it helps to see the scale of what has been built, the sizing guide publishes payload and acceleration ranges from delivered projects, and the capability catalogue above covers the platform families in detail.
Motion Platform Terminology
The terms that appear most often in specifications, quotations and interface documents — defined the way an engineer reading a tender would want them defined, not the way a textbook would.
Gross moving load (GML)
The total mass the platform accelerates: test article, fixture, cabin, occupants, instrumentation and cabling. Not the payload alone — the gap between the two is the most common cause of an under-sized platform.
Degrees of freedom (DOF)
The independent ways a rigid body can move; six is the complete set. On a motion platform 3DOF conventionally means pitch, roll and heave — which differs from VR headset usage, where it means three rotations.
Surge · sway · heave
The three translational axes: longitudinal, lateral and vertical. Surge and sway are the axes a 3DOF platform does not have.
Roll · pitch · yaw
The three rotational axes, about the longitudinal, lateral and vertical axes. Positive direction and rotation order are not standardised — both belong in the interface document.
Stewart platform · hexapod
A parallel mechanism joining a moving platform to a fixed base through six variable-length limbs. Describes an architecture, not a degree-of-freedom count.
6-TPS configuration
The specific parallel arrangement we build: six servo electric cylinders connected through Cardan joints rather than ball joints, each limb forming a T-P-S kinematic chain.
Inverse kinematics
Converting a commanded platform pose into six actuator lengths. A closed-form calculation with one answer, run every control cycle.
Forward kinematics
The reverse: six measured lengths back to one pose. Has no general closed-form solution and must be solved numerically — the harder half of the problem.
Workspace envelope
The coupled six-dimensional region of usable poses. Per-axis maxima are not simultaneously available, so published maximum values cannot be added together.
Motion cueing
An application-layer algorithm turning vehicle or flight model dynamics into bounded platform motion. Sits above the platform controller and is not required by every application.
Tilt coordination
Tilting the platform so gravity places a sustained specific force on the occupant, representing continuous acceleration inside a finite workspace. Reproduces the plateau of an acceleration but not its onset.
Servo electric cylinder
An electromechanical linear actuator pairing a servo motor with a screw drive. The all-electric replacement for a hydraulic cylinder; ours are developed and built in-house.
Duty cycle
The proportion and pattern of operating time. Governs the thermal rating of electric actuators, which is often the real constraint rather than peak force.
Factory acceptance test (FAT)
Verification at our facility before shipment, against an agreed test load, trajectory, reference point, instrument and tolerance. A no-load demonstration is not a FAT.
Why these definitions are worded this way. Each one carries the caveat that causes trouble in real projects — the difference between payload and GML, the fact that DOF numbering is not universal, the fact that axis maxima do not add. If a term here is new to you and it appears in a quotation you are evaluating, it is worth confirming what the supplier means by it. Fuller treatment of any of these is in the Technology section.
Certifications & Compliance
The records procurement departments normally ask for. Certificates are issued on request for inclusion in qualification files and tender documentation.
ISO 9001
Quality management system
ISO 14001
Environmental management
ISO 45001
Occupational health & safety
CE
European conformity marking
GJB9001C
Defence quality system (2017)
On the GJB9001C-2017 certification. This is the Chinese defence-sector quality management standard, and it is the one that most often needs explaining to overseas procurement teams. It imposes requirements beyond ISO 9001 on design control, traceability, configuration management and process documentation. If your qualification process needs a written explanation of its scope, ask and we will provide one. Full detail is on the certifications page, and the manufacturing and inspection processes behind it are covered under quality control.
Looking for an Explanation Rather Than a Document?
Deliberately not duplicated here. Engineering guides live in the Technology section, where they can be maintained as one coherent body of material rather than scattered across two sections.
Working principle
How a 6DOF Platform Works
Command to measured motion: inverse kinematics, actuator coupling, feedback and workspace limits.
Selection
3DOF vs 6DOF
Whether the three axes you would drop carry information your task depends on.
Selection
Electric vs Hydraulic
Where hydraulic still genuinely wins, and why most of the market moved to electric.
Sizing
Payload, Stroke & Acceleration
What gross moving load includes, why centre-of-gravity height matters, and how the three trade against each other.
Mechanism
Stewart Platform Design
Attachment geometry, topology, joint selection and how the workspace envelope is established.
All guides
Technology Overview
The full set of engineering guides, plus the analysis method behind every platform we ship.
Commercial & Project Questions
Engineering questions are answered within each Technology guide. These are the other ones — the questions that come from procurement, project management and facilities rather than from engineering.
Why are there no standard datasheets to download?
Because we do not build standard platforms. Every platform is engineered against a specific gross moving load, trajectory and duty cycle, so a generic datasheet would describe a machine nobody receives. Instead we produce a configuration-specific datasheet once your requirement is defined — which is more useful and takes about the same time as finding the right generic one would.
Can I get 3D CAD models for layout planning?
Yes, on request and once a configuration is established. We supply STEP models of the envelope and mounting interface for layout and interference checking. Because platform geometry is project-specific, a model issued before the configuration is agreed would have to be replaced later.
What is a typical lead time?
Lead time depends on platform size, degree of customisation and current workload, and is confirmed with the quotation. Engineering review and design occupy the first phase, followed by manufacture, assembly, control system integration and factory acceptance testing. Projects requiring new mechanism geometry take longer than those adapting an existing configuration.
How are motion platforms packed and shipped?
Platforms ship in export-grade timber crating with the moving assembly mechanically locked for transit. Larger platforms are partially disassembled and shipped in sections with reassembly documentation. Sea, air and rail freight are all used depending on size and urgency. See delivery and packaging for detail.
What certifications does CSCMotion hold?
ISO 9001 for quality management, ISO 14001 for environmental management, ISO 45001 for occupational health and safety, CE marking, and the GJB9001C-2017 defence quality management system. Certificates are issued on request for procurement and compliance files.
Do you provide installation and commissioning support?
Yes. The scope is agreed per project and can range from remote guidance with documentation through to on-site installation, commissioning and operator training. Because site conditions, foundations and host systems differ, the support scope is defined in the project documentation rather than assumed.
What happens if something needs servicing after delivery?
Because we manufacture the servo cylinders, controllers and software ourselves, support does not depend on a third-party component supplier's response time. Spare parts, replacement actuators and software updates come from us directly. Warranty terms and any extended support arrangement are agreed in the contract.
Where do I find engineering explanations rather than documents?
In the Technology section. This Resources section holds material you take away and use — catalogue, terminology, tools, compliance records and commercial answers. Technology holds the explanations: how platforms work, how they are designed, how to choose between architectures, and how to size one.
Ask for What You Need
We do not put documents behind an email form to harvest contacts. If you need the catalogue, a certificate, a CAD model or a datasheet, ask and it will be sent. Technical requests are answered by engineers, and asking a question does not put you into a quotation process.
To get the right document first time
Tell us these and we can usually send exactly what you need without a follow-up exchange:
What the document is for — tender, design review, internal approval
Approximate moving load — even a rough figure narrows it considerably
Application — testing, simulation, compensation, research
Format needed — PDF, STEP, editable, or a specific template
Any deadline — tender dates are worth stating up front