Abstract: A laser cutting or trimming machine has a CO.sub.2 laser producing a laser beam and a guiding and reorienting system for directing the laser beam to a workpiece to be processed. The focal point of the laser beam and/or the laser beam output member lies on a first rotation axis, around which all of the guiding and reorienting means and the laser beam are rotatable. The laser beam and the focal point of the laser beam is pivotable about a second rotation axis, which is oriented perpendicularly to the first rotation axis. The laser beam output member can perform a conical motion about the second rotation axis, whereby the focal point or the apex of the cone described by the conical motion of the beam output member does not leave the intersection point of the first and second rotation axes. This conical motion of the laser beam output member is programmable and the workpiece to be processed is held on a mounting device programmably movable in three dimensions.

Abstract: A robot for purposes of production and/or assembly comprises an arm carrying a holder for a tool, operating device or the like and being movable in three dimensions in consequence of appropriate guides. The holder itself can have various degrees of freedom through arrangement of hinges, rotational axes or the like and all holder movements for individual operating processes may be programmable. The holder is connected indirectly or directly to the arm through a double parallelogram linkage integrated into one unit, wherein the parallelogram linkage rod pairs extend obliquely one to the other, and a pivot angle displacing mechanism is associated with this linkage.