Precision Mechanics
by David Kittell

The little blue book


How can a simple 1/4-20 screw provide precision adjustments?

This book by the world renound engineer and father of the discipline of precison mechanics, David Kittell, shows you how.

How can precision adjustments be designed and built with inexpensive parts?

Is it necessary to have expensive, tightly toleranced parts and frighteningly delicate and precise ultra fine pitch positioning screws to achieve remarkable precision in machine position control?


The little blue book shows how by application of precision mechanics concepts, ultra high precision can be achieved with standard tolerance machine shop and off the shelf parts.

Table of Contents

Introductory Dialog          1
Rigid Body Mechanics         6
Flexure Kinematics          12
Rolling Kinematics          21
Adjustments                 22
Holders, Clamps and Locks   32
Structures                  40
Configuration               44
Sensors                     51


About the author:

David Kittell, Founder and President of Sage Systems, has been a designer and builder of precision instruments and machines for more than 30 years. During his early career, he worked on high performance optical drum scanners for Time, Inc., contributing to many innovations to the field. He was the architect of the computer controlled polisher used to polish the now infamous Hubble Space Telescope mirrors. He was recently a principal scientist with Hughes Danbury Optical Systems in Connecticut, doing work on deformable mirrors and adaptive optics. He holds an engineering degree from the University of Connecticut.

$35.00 per copy