Fuente: WIPO "rice" An X-Y drive device for positioning a workhead by planar movement in two dimensions comprising flexible drive means 12 on an arrangement of at least 8 pulleys forming a substantially H-shaped configuration and an beam 9 movable along the Y axis and forming the crossbar of the H on which is mounted workhead 10 which is clamped to drive means 12 and movable along the X axis, and further characterised in that two driven pulleys 1, 2 are disposed at the ends of two arms of the H. Drive means 12 may be a belt, chain or wire and the beam 9 may be mounted on a table or on rollers riding on tubular supports (Figs. 4, 8). The beam and workhead may ride on electrically conductive rollers. Possible applications are in X-Y plotters, flat bed drills or routers, surface applications, flat bed scanners (eg fax machines), moving beam machines, chemical autosamples and engraving tools.