This work presents a design example of a generic six-degree-of-freedom parallel manipulator commonly known
as the Stewart platform. It is meant as a practical guideline covering the basic theory of Stewart platforms and
the actual low cost realization suitable for rapid prototyping. The inverse kinematics solution and a coarse-grained
evaluation are provided for the actually constructed prototype. Additionally, the application of generic Stewart
platforms as tool holders in the context of minimally invasive robotic surgery is discussed and a proposal for a
surgical robot given.