Abstract: A multi-stroke air cylinder providing a precisely directed and controlled stroke in the face of lateral, torsional and tilting loads on a tooling plate. The multi-stroke cylinder utilizes a plurality of mechanically linked pneumatic or hydraulic pistons having different stroke lengths that can be added together in any combination, allowing the user to select any stroke length up to a predetermined, total combined stroke length, in increments equal to the stroke length of the smallest cylinder. The multi-stroke cylinder includes a head assembly having a fluid inlet for introducing fluid to the cylinder at a first pressure. The cylinder also includes a first positioning system having a plurality of pistons capable of moving a piston rod away from the first positioning system, and a second positioning system located between the head assembly and the first positioning system.