All the world is needs a stage. (X-Y-Z).

Screen legend Gary Grant once called the stage his factory. Had he been a manufacturing engineer, he might have been understood literally, instead of metaphorically.

X-Y positioning stages are found in machines for assembling precision products, such as disk drives, lenses and fiber optic components. They are used for applications in which accuracy and repeatability are more important than speed. They are also used in less precise applications, when it's necessary to support high inertia loads.

Among the first options to consider when specifying a positioning stage is the base, which must be flat and stable. The base can be made from aluminum, steel, ceramic …