APPENDIX 1

AIR BEARING
SEMINAR REPORT

Submitted by

THESIYA YOGESH

in partial fulfillment for the award of the degree

of
BACHELOR OF TECHNOLOGY
in
MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

DEPARTMENT OF MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

FACULTY OF TECHNOLOGY
DHARMSINH DESAI UNIVERSITY, NADIAD
April 2016
 APPENDIX 2

BONAFIDE CERTIFICATE
Certified that this project report “AIR - BEARING” is the

bonafide work of YOGESH R. THESIYA who carried out the

seminar work under my supervision.

(Prof. G. D. Bassan). (Prof. X. Y. Zha)

HEAD SUPERVISOR
Mechanical Engineering Department Assistant professor
Faculty of Technology Mechanical Engineering Department
Dharmsinh Desai University Faculty of Technology
College Road Dharmsinh Desai University
Nadiad – 387 001 College Road
Gujarat Nadiad – 387 001,Gujarat
 ABSTRACT
This report “AIR BEARING” contains the history of the Air bearing ,why they come into
picture, advantages-disadvantages and applications of these bearings.
In this bearing shaft is suspended due to Air film. The bearings which are generally used in
application, supports the shaft on it and involves physical contact between shaft and bearing.
This causes friction between two rubbing surfaces and wear & tear of metal surfaces.
Use of Air-bearing obsolete the physical contact between two surfaces, hence reduce the friction,
no wear and tear, and no noise so safe working condition and long life machine component.
The main objective of this project is to aware the students about new technology and innovation
in existing one. It is also believed that this project can contribute towards enhancing the learning
process of students.
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is always a pleasure to remind the fine people in the engineering program for their sincere I
received to uphold my practical as well as theoretical skills in engineering.
Firstly, I would like to thank Mr. G.D. Bassan (Head of Mechanical Department) meticulously
planning academic curriculum in such a way that students are not only academically should but
also practically ready by including such Mechanical project patterns.
I would also like to convey my heartful gratitude to Mr.K.K.Shah sir, who continuously guiding
me, from initial advice to encouragement till this date.
Finally I would like to thank my friends, who continuously supported me and inspired me in
every possible way, from beginning to till now.
 Table Of Content
CHAPTER1:INTRODUCTION………………………………………
………………………5
CHAPTER 2: HISTORY
………………………………………………………………………..
CHAPTER3:CLASSIFICATION………………………………
CHAPTER 4: ADVANTAGES &
DISADVANTAGES………………………………….
CHAPTER 5: BEARING
ARRANGEMENT……………………………………………….
CHAPTER 6:
APPLICATION…………………………………………………………
………..
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION
Advances in engineering and technology frequently place severe new demands upon
the support systems for machine components required to be in relative motion both in
regard to improved performance and increasingly exacting operating conditions. The great
majority of these demands are met by some combination of clever design of 'conventional'
bearing systems, the development of improved liquid lubricants for a great diversity of
specialized applications, and the devising of effective sealing techniques for circumstances
in which it is essential to minimize the leakage of lubricant liquids or their vapors.

However, in a growing number of applications it is becoming necessary to achieve a result

which is either technically or economically impracticable with conventional lubricants.
Numerous alternative classes of bearing systems have been devised to meet new
requirements by means which are tailored to like circumstances. For example, in a vacuum,
a magnetic support may be employed (for low temperatures); for handling almost any
liquid, the liquid itself may be used as a lubricant although it may lack numerous
convenient qualities available with lubricating oils; and for numerous special purposes,
including some very high temperature applications, solid lubricants such as graphite, or
molybdenum or tungsten disulfide, may be employed. Another alternative class of bearings
is that which makes use of a gas (air) as the lubricant. Air lubrication offers certain unique
advantages, as in their own manner and place do the other alternatives, but likewise air
bearings themselves have their own inherent limitations which must be clearly recognized
in advance if the aspiring user is to avoid unwarranted failure.

In particular it must be recognized that air bearings of practically every type are somewhat
more prone to instability difficulties than are liquid bearings, although most of these
instabilities are to a huge extent the same general type that occur in liquid-lubricated
systems; for example, the important case of half-speed whirl in self-acting 360 degree
journal. Pressurized bearings also have their instability problems although these are
sometimes of a very different type.
 Generally every application, involving rotating member uses
bearings. A bearing is a machine element that constrains relative
motion to only the desired motion, and reduces friction between
moving parts.

Fig.1.1 Shaft with bearing

Bearings are also used to support the shafts but above two
functions are very important.
Fig.1.2 Bearing which is used generally.
Bearings are classified broadly according to the type of
operation,the motions allowed, or to the directions of the loads
(forces) applied to the parts.
There are at least 6 common types of bearing, each of which
operates on different principles:

Plain bearing, also known by the specific styles: bushing,

journal bearing, sleeve bearing, rifle bearing
Rolling-element bearing such as ball bearings and roller
bearings
 Jewel bearing, in which the load is carried by rolling the
axle slightly off-center
Fluid bearing, in which the load is carried by a gas or liquid
Magnetic bearing, in which the load is carried by a
magnetic field
Flexure bearing, in which the motion is supported by a load
element which bends.
Air Bearing, in which the load is carried by air pressure.

The bearings which use in general application itself offer

some friction. It also itself rub the surface of rotating member, in
case when wear on both bearing and shaft is sever then it
produce noise and vibration which is not good. So, in order to
reduce this friction we have to reduce or eliminate the physical
contact between two surfaces. Here use of air bearing is
essential to avoid physical contact between two surfaces.
Air bearings (also known as aerostatical or
aerodynamical bearings) are bearings that use a thin film of
pressurized air to provide very low friction load-bearing interface
between surfaces. The two surfaces do not touch. As they are
contact-free, air bearings avoid the traditional bearing-related
problems of friction, wear, particulates, and lubricant handling,
and offer distinct advantages in precision positioning, such as
lacking backlash and static friction, as well as in high-speed
applications.
Fig.1.2 General Air bearing.
The fluid film of the bearing is air that flows through the
bearing itself to the bearing surface. The design of the air bearing
is such that, although the air constantly escapes from the bearing
gap, the pressure between the faces of the bearing is enough to
support the working loads. Thus, there is a differentiation that has
to be made between hydrodynamical bearings, which establish
the air cushion through their movement, and hydrostatical
bearings, in which the pressure is being externally inserted.
CHAPTER 2
HISTORY
Air bearings have been a niche type technology employed
mostly in laboratories and instruments. Today few engineers
would consider air bearing technology for a “production
machine”. But as the drive for precision presses the technical
limits of other bearing types the high precision properties of air
bearings become more attractive. At the same time air bearings
have become easier to use, less expensive, more robust and
more readily available.
Air bearings are not a new technology. In 1828 Rev. Wills
published a work in the Cambridge Philosophical Society entitled
“On the Pressure Produced on a Flat Surface When Opposed to
a Stream of Air Issuing from an Orifice in a Plane Surface”.
Over the century's air bearings have become more sophisticated
but still today, most air bearings operate on this same basic
principle.
Kingsbury in 1897 experimented with a 6”diameter journal
bearing supported on externally pressurized air. His problems,
the practical problems of matching bore and shaft geometry and
size so as to achieve a consistent .0005” gap all the way around
were a manufacturing challenge at the turn-of-the-century. Small
gaps are required with air because its viscosity is so low.
Kingsbury found that the higher viscosity of water or oil worked
better with the relatively large gaps that could be manufactured in
the day. Today the company he founded, Kingsbury Corporation,
is still a major supplier of fluid film bearings for applications like
ship propeller shafts and shafts for hydro electric turbines.
 Russ Shelton is known by some as the father of the
CMM for his early work using air bearings and granite in the
60’s. Mr. Shelton used porous carbon air bearings on CMM’s
he built 25 years ago. Some of these machines are still in use
with no significant problem with the air bearings.
In 1904 air bearings were used in turbines. G.
Westinghouse received a patent for an air thrust bearing used in
a vertical steam turbine. Thrust bearings were easier to make
as two flat surfaces are easier to match than ID and OD
surfaces. The low viscosity of air with nearly zero friction was an
important factor in the high efficiency of the Westinghouse
steam turbine.
CHAPTER 3
WORKING
3.1 Principle of Operation of Air bearings
As with conventional bearings, air bearings constrain
the relative motion of a desired object to one or more axes.
Nearly every conventional bearing has an analogous air
bearing form. For the moment, we will examine a basic
linear bearing with cross rollers making contact within a
vgroove.
The lower blue rail is fixed while the upper rail is

allowed to move left and right as it makes contact with the

rotating rollers.
The air bearing analog is shown below. The rollers are
replaced by a film of air (shown light
 blue) and the upper rail (shown transparent) now mates into the
v-groove.
Here is how it works:
1. When the air bearing is not energized, the mating surfaces
are in direct contact.

2. Through either relative motion or an external pressure

source, a very thin layer of fluid (light blue line), in this
case a gas or air becomes pressurized between the two
static objects.
3. Because the gap is kept small by a preload force, the
air escapes to atmosphere slowly and therefore builds

pressure.
4. When the pressure becomes large enough, the resulting
force causes the upper element to move a small
distance away from the stationary element until static
equilibrium is reached.
 5. This air gap distance is determined by the amount of
total load applied and fluid pressure within the
separation; a larger pressure results in a larger separation.

3.2 Stages of Working of Air bearings

Generally air bearings work in three stages as shown in figures.
General working of all types of air bearings is as shown in below.
 3.2.1 General working of air bearing
3 stages of working
 Deflated
In the deflated stage,the air bearing,it is resting on the floor
with the most of the weight being supported by the center
load pad.
 Inflated
The second image shows the air bearing in an inflated form
after it has formed a seal with floor surface.At this stage,the
load has not been engaged to float away from the floor.
 3.2.2 Deflated stage. 3.2.3 inflated stage

3.2.4 load lifted stage

 Load lifted
The above image shows the air bearing after it has engaged
and floated the load.Compressed air will then start to escape
from bearing diaphragm into the area that is being contained
by the floor seal.
The weight of the load causes the Compressed air
escaping out of the air bearing to force downward onto the
floor surface thus causing the load to float away from the
load.
CHAPTER 4
AIR BEARING
CLASSIFICATION
There are many types of air bearings but two important types
of air bearings are hydrostatic(aerostatic) and
hydrodynamic(aerodynamic).
5.1Hydrostatic and Hydrodynamic Air bearings
The first question is how to generate the pressurized supply
of fluid for the bearing. There are two ways to do this - one is
using an external pressurized supply (hydrostatic) and the other is
to use the relative motion of the machine components to generate
the pressure internally (hydrodynamic or "self-generating").
5.1.1Hydrodynamic Air bearings
Bearings which generate their own internal pressure differentials. This generate this
pressure by the action of simultaneously shearing and squeezing the environmental gas
between the surfaces in relative motion.

5.1.1 Hydrodynamic:Relative Motion Generates Pressure

In the case of aerodynamic bearings, also known as self-acting bearings, special features
may be manufactured into the mating surfaces which act like a small pump (insert
graphic?). At rest, the mating surfaces may be in direct contact. Relative motion forces the
air molecules from atmosphere into the gap where they begin to accumulate with
increasing pressure. As the speed increases, a velocity induced pressure gradient forms
across the clearance. The increased pressure between the surfaces creates the load
carrying effect. The load capacity is dependent on the speed at which the surface moves
and therefore at zero speed, the air bearing supports no load.

In general, aerodynamic bearings suffer from decreased load carrying capacity. In addition,
the zero-load at zero speed effect causes starting and stopping friction and may result in
some wearing of the air bearing surfaces. Notwithstanding some of the disadvantages, self-
acting bearings have found widespread industrial use. The most ubiquitous example may
be the magnetic read/write heads of a disk-based hard drive memory storage device. In
this case, a flat thrust-load carrying air film is created between the disk surface and the
head. An armature positions and lightly preloads the flat head against the surface while a
motor provides relative motion by spinning the magnetic disk. As pressure builds, the head
elevates above the disk surface. As hard drive technology has improved, the distance at
which the air bearing head flies has been reduced to as small as 3 nanometers. This gap is
about 30,000 times thinner than the average thickness of a sheet of notebook paper. Small
air gaps present fabrication difficulties which are discussed in the Manufacturing
Challenges section below.

The aerodynamic air bearing's principle advantage is its ability to act without an external
pressure source. The load capacity is limited by the area of the bearing and the relative
velocity of the mating surface. Therefore, aerodynamic air bearings can be applied in
limited cases:
1. Where the application requires lack of an external pressure source
2. Where the application requires only small load capacities relative to the size of the air
bearing.
While hydrodynamic bearings are common for oil fluid film bearings, which generate internal
pressures quite easily due to the relatively high viscosity of oil, it is much rarer to see this technique
used for air bearings because the pressure generated is quite low (although Nelson Air has built
bearings of this type for low load, high speed rotary applications such as optical scanners).

5.2.2 Hydrostatic Air bearings

Bearings which require a feed of pressurized air for their operation. this pressure is

generated by an external pump.

 5.1.2 Hydrostatic: External Pressure Supply
Applications which can allow an external pressure source to supply air to the bearing do not suffer
the negative effects of surface wear at the start and/or end of motion. Air bearings operating in this
way are described as aerostatic. This type will support its entire design load at zero or high speed
with zero stiction and wear. At rest, the bearing mating surfaces are in direct contact with a load
applied. Commonly, an attached air tube delivers pressurized air or other gas to the bearing
housing. Features inside the bearing direct the air to the gap interface through different methods
further explained below. As described previously, due to the small clearance maintained by the
applied load, the air molecules cannot escape quickly enough from between the mating surfaces to
atmosphere. This restriction causes an accumulation of pressure which continues to build until the
resulting force begins to push apart the mating surfaces. The gap increase persists until a balance of
inlet pressure and air flow restriction is created. The air bearing now exhibits frictionless motion.

The load capacity of aerostatic air bearings is limited only by the supply pressure and the
strength of the mechanical components. Remarkably, when designed correctly, air bearings
can support multi-ton loads without friction or wear of the mating surfaces.

The manner in which the pressurized gas is admitted to the gap further divides the
aerostatic category into a few different types:

1. Porous surface
2.Partial porous surface
3.Discrete Orifice feeding
4.Slot feeding
5. Groove feeding
Our typical air bearings are hydrostatic (or in our case
aerostatic) and use a compressed air supply to create the fluid film.
This supply should be clean and regulated to a constant pressure
- simple off the shelf air handling components are more than
adequate for most applications to clean, dehumidify, and regulate
the supply. Typical operating pressures run as low as 20 psi up to
120 psi depending on the stiffness, load capacity, and air
consumption requirements.
The main advantage of a hydrostatic air bearing is that even
at little or no movement, there is no friction. This is what gives the
bearing ultra high repeatability and indefinite lifetime.
Hydrodynamic air bearings do not require any external air supply.
However, they have the issue of friction and wear until sufficient
velocity is attained to create the air gap.
There are some other types of air bearings which are may be
aerostatic or aerodynamic in nature.
5.2 Conventional Air bearings
With conventional single nozzle air bearings, the compressed air
flows through a few relatively large nozzles (diameter 0.1 – 0.5 mm)
into the bearing gap. The air consumption thus allows only some
flexibility such that the bearing’s features (force, moments, bearing
surface, bearing gap height, damping) can be adjusted only

5.2.1Nozzle-air bearing with chambers and channels

insufficiently. However, in order to allow a uniform air pressure
even with only some nozzles, air bearing manufacturers take
constructive techniques. In doing so, these air bearings cause dead
volumes (non-compressible and thus weak air volume). In effect,
this dead volume is very harmful for the air bearing’s dynamic and
causes self-excited vibrations.
5.2 Single-nozzle Air bearings
The pre-pressured chamber consists of a chamber around the
centralized nozzle. Usually, this chamber’s ratio is between 3% and
20% of the bearing’s surface. Even with a chamber depth of 1/100
mm, the dead volume is very high. In the worst cases, these air
bearings consist of a concave bearing surface instead of a
chamber. Disadvantages of these air bearings include a very poor
tilt stiffness.
5.3 Air bearings with channels and chambers
Typically, conventional air bearings are implemented with
chambers and canals. This design assumes that with a limited
amount of nozzles, the dead volume should decrease while
distributing the air within the gap uniformly. Most constructive ideas
refer to special canal structures. Since the late 1980s, air bearings
with micro canal structures without chambers are manufactured.
However, this technique also has to manage problems with dead
volume. With an increasing gap height, the micro canal’s load and
stiffness decreases. As in the case of high-speed linear drives or
high-frequency spindles, this may cause serious ddisadvantages.
5.4 Porous Air Bearings
Porous air bearings utilize porous material such as graphite to
allow a uniform air distribution.
 5.4.1 Porous Air bearing
One major advantage is the lack of metal-on-metal contact.
Graphite has a natural lubricity. Therefore, if there is any drop in air
pressure, the bearing will still function and will not get damaged.
Because of this, porous air bearings are the most reliable and have
infinite lifetime. Graphite can be tuned such that the air bearing will
meet requirements of fluid flow, stiffness, load capacity, size, etc.
5.5 Laser drilled Micro-nozzle air bearings
Laser-drilled micro nozzle air bearings make use of computerized
manufacturing and design techniques to optimize performance and
efficiency. This technology allows manufacturers more flexibility in
manufacturing. In turn this allows a larger design envelope in which
to optimize their designs for a given application. In many cases
engineers can create air bearings that approach the theoretical limit
of performance. Rather than a few large nozzles, air bearings with
lots of micro nozzles avoid dynamically disadvantageous dead
5.5.1 Cut through a cylindrical element
 5.5.2 Laserprocessing (cut through a bearing element)

volumes. Dead volumes refer to all cavities in which air cannot be

compressed during decrease of the air gap. These appear as weak
gas pressure stimulates vibration. Examples of the benefits are:
linear drives with accelerations of more than 1,000 m/s² (100 g), or
impact drives with even more than 100,000 m/s² (10,000 g) due to
high damping in combination with dynamic stiffness; sub-
nanometer movements due to lowest noise-induced errors; and
seal-free transmission of gas or vacuum for rotary and linear drives
via the gap due to guided air supply.

Micro-nozzle air bearings achieve an effective, nearly perfect

pressure distribution within the air gap with a large number of micro
nozzles. Their typical diameter is between 0.02 mm and 0.06 mm.
The narrowest cross-section of these nozzles lies exactly at the
bearing’s surface. Thereby the technology avoids a dead volume
on the supporting air bearing’s surface and within the area of the
air supplying nozzles.

The micro nozzles are automatically drilled with a laser beam that
provides top-quality and repeatability. The physical behaviors of
the air bearings prove to have a low variation for large as well as
for small production volumes. In contrast to conventional bearings,
with this technique the air bearings require no manual or costly
manufacturing.

The advantages of the micro-nozzle air bearing technology include:

  efficient use of the air cushion (close to the physical limit)
through a uniform pressure within the whole gap;
 perfect combination of static and dynamic properties;
 highest-possible flexibility of the air bearing properties: with a
particular gap height, it is possible to optimize the air bearing
such that it has, for example, a maximum load, stiffness, tilt
stiffness, damping, or a minimum air consumption
(respectively also in combination with others);
 multi-approved highest precision of all air bearings, e.g. in the
measurement technology due to slightest movements (<< 2
nanometer) through physical, lowest-possible self-excited
vibrations;
 considerably higher tilt stiffness than conventional air
bearings such that the air within the gap flows through canals
from the loaded to the unloaded areas away;
 vibration-free within the entire operating range even with high
air pressure supply (actually even much more than 10 bar are
possible);
 highest reliability due to the large number of nozzles: clogging
of nozzles by particles is out of question (no failure in
operation) because their diameters are much higher than the
gap height;
 possibility to adjust bearing properties for deformation and
tolerances of the bearing and opposite surface;
 proven usability for many bearing materials and coatings.
Some of these advantages, such as the high flexibility, the
excellent static and dynamic properties in combination, and a low
noise excitation, prove to be unique among all other air bearings.
CHAPTER 5
AIR BEARING ASPECTS

The fluid is able to transfer forces because as the fluid is

pushed through the bearing gap it generates a pressure profile
across the bearing area. The force the bearing can support is
then:
Force = Avg. Pressure x Area
The actual pressure distribution in the bearing varies based on
the bearing design and other parameters but a
good rule of thumb is to expect 30% efficiency.

Force = 0.3 x Supply Pressure x Area

For flat pads and rectangular bearings this calculation is quite
straightforward, but for journal and spherical bearings we use a
few other approximations to estimate load capacity.

5.1 Materials
In order to manufacture air bearing surface geometries to sub-
micron accuracy, rigid metals, ceramics or other similar materials
often comprise the housing and/or static components. In addition,
long-term material stability is an unconditional requirement if high
repeatability is to be achieved. By no means an exhaustive list,
the materials shown below have been used as air bearing
components and surfaces.
Hardcoated aluminum
Steel, stainless steel
Brass/bronze
Glass
Nickel
Invar
Macor
PEEK
Ceramic
Graphite
Carbon
Granite
5.2 why we use air?
While most people are familiar with oil fluid film bearings - for
example the crankshaft journal bearings in car engines - most
people have not been exposed to air
Why we use air (instead of
bearings. Remembering our high school oil):
Air is clean, contaminant free
physics class, there are two basic types Zero friction - no heat
of fluids - liquids and gasses. In terms of generation at high speeds
Small bearing gap means
fluid film bearings, the difference high accuracy components,
between these two is essentially the high accuracy motion
Air nitrogen of any other
viscosity - liquids have much higher gas can be used
viscosity than gasses. When applied to a fluid film bearing, this
difference has a number of implications.
First, lower viscosity means that for the same working
pressure gas bearings have lower load capacity (liquid fluid film
bearings typically support five times the load of gas bearings for
the same pad area).
Second, because of the extremely low viscosity of gasses,
gas film bearings operate with essentially zero static and running
friction where liquid fluid film bearings have much higher friction
and pumping losses within the bearings, which can cause heat
generation. And third, gas bearings require very tight bearing
gaps for proper operation (10 µm for gas compared to up to 100
µm for liquid bearing) which translates into extremely high
accuracy requirements on the components.
What this means for air bearings is that although they have a
lower load capacity, gas bearings have essentially zero friction at
all speeds and because the tight bearing clearances demand high
accuracy components this results in extremely high accuracy
motion. Another benefit is the cleanliness of using air as a
lubricating fluid as opposed to oil, water, or another fluid. Since
compressed air is very common in industrial environments it is
probably the most often used gas, however other gasses such as
nitrogen can be used where they are available (such as in clean
room environments).
5.2 How does the air get into the bearing?
After entering the bearing and being routed though internal
passages, the next step is to feed the pressurized air to where it
is needed - namely directly into the bearing gap. There are two
basic ways to accomplish this, orifices and porous media. For
orifices, the air flows through a small hole (typically .004" to .015"
dia.) into the bearing area. Porous media bearings use a porous
material (typically carbon, bronze, or steel) which the air
penetrates through into the bearing area.
The relative benefits of each approach are debatable. While
orifices typically do not generate as uniform a pressure profile as
can be achieved with porous media, there are ways to improve
the pressure profile using a technique called "pocketed
compensation". Porous media feeding provides more inherent
damping than orifices, however proper sizing of the orifices can

adjust damping. Orifices can become plugged if a very large

5.2.1 Basic types of air entrance.
particle gets into the air supply (this is extremely rare), where the
porous media acts as a filter for the air. However, because of this
filtering effect, over time the porous media itself can become
clogged (oil vapor in the air is particularly bad) and a clogged
porous bearing is much more difficult to clear than a clogged
orifice.
Orifice fed bearings can be made from one piece of material
(particularly when using drilled nozzles) where porous bearings
are necessarily made using varying materials and adhesives.

5.3 WHEN TO USE AIR BEARING

It is safe to say: air bearings are not suitable for all applications but when they are used
effectively, each prescription has some common characteristics. Generally, it is advisable to
use air bearings when one or more of the following is an application requirement:
1. nanometric repeatability and/or accuracy
2.frictionless motion
3.zero stiction
4.zero backlash
5.zero wear of the mating surfaces
6.high speed and high acceleration
7.low or near-zero particle emission

Other advantages include: lack of oil-based lubricants for operation, no service

maintenance, no “run-in” period, simplification over conventional bearings, improved
damping in dynamic performance, improved machine efficiency.

5.4 WHEN NOT TO USE AIR BEARING

In order for an application to succeed, it is important to fully understand the special
requirements, characteristics and installation guidelines of air bearings. To that end, we
often convince potential customers to utilize conventional bearings in order to satisfy the
design requirements. With all the benefits they provide, air bearings are not a panacea of
tribology.

Generally, do not use air bearings when the application:

1.does not require near frictionless motion

2.does not require high accuracy and repeatability
3.involves environments where the air bearing surfaces may be exposed to oils or other
sticky substances
4.cannot allow for a pressure source in the case of aerostatic air bearings (externally
pressurized)
5.requires minimal performance after high overload conditions on the air bearing
6.cannot provide for accurate machining of the mating surface in the case of flat or
cylindrical bushing air bearings
7.requires high load capacity in a small design envelope

5.5 Manufacturing challenges of air bearings

For proper performance, fluid film bearings require the gap to be small to allow pressure to
build. For bearings using gases, this gap is on the order of only a few microns or about 25
to 50 times thinner than the diameter of a human hair. In addition, the bearing and mating
surface geometry is usually controlled to less than one fifth of this gap. This accuracy
requirement presents a manufacturing challenge. In order to produce spherical, cylindrical
and planar surfaces with form tolerances of less than 10-20 millionths of an inch,
specialized machinery and methods are needed. The standard to which measurement
takes place is generally much higher than typically found in a quality inspection
department. To that end, it is often necessary to employ temperature controlled
environments, the use of vibration-isolated measuring platforms and clean room assembly
workstations.
CHAPTER 6
AIR BEARING
GEOMETRY
Because of the very small gaps that are required for air
bearings, the single most important factor in their manufacture is

6.1 air film average out local variation

absolutely flawless geometry. Any variation in part size,
straightness, squareness or out of roundness will result in a closing
of the gap and will cause the bearing to lose its frictionless nature
as well as degrade accuracy and load capacity. Typical tolerances
on our rectangular bearings which run air gaps of ~0.0005" are part
deviations less than ±0.0001" overall. This same tolerance applies
over the entire length of the bearing, which for some models can
be over 60".
In addition, the part geometry is what determines the accuracy of
the final bearing motion - even though local deviations are
averaged out by the air film, the overall accuracy is dictated by how
well the parts are made. Because of this, Nelson Air has developed
a variety of techniques and equipment which allow us to meet these
stringent tolerances with repeatability and relatively low cost.
6.1 On Accuracy, Precision and Repeatability
 Typical Air Bearing Specs:
Linear Accuracy:
10 µin/in, 100 µin/36 in
Rotary Accuracy:
±1 µin TIR
Roll/Pitch/Yaw:
0.25 arcsec/in
Linear Repeatability:
±10 µin
Rotary Repeatability:
1 µin
Positioning Resolution:
to ±1 encoder count

To start this discussion it is best to briefly define what accuracy,

precision and repeatability mean.
Accuracy is the measure of how closely the motion
follows an ideal profile.

Precision is the measure of how small the motion

increments can be.

Repeatability is the measure of how well the motion

moves along the same path.
Air bearings offer the best of all worlds because they have excellent
accuracy, precision and repeatability. They offer high accuracy
because the components are manufactured with extremely tight
tolerances and because of the air film's averaging effects. Typical
linear accuracies are 10 µin/in with maximum deviation of 100
µin/36 in. Rotary runout can be as low ±1 µin. Air bearings also
offer extremely good tilt characteristics - 0.25 arcsec/in.
Because air bearings exhibit no stiction or running friction, the
precision achievable is only limited by the abilities of the
motor/controller/encoder. Positioning precision of ±1 encoder
count can easily be achieved using linear motors.
The repeatability of air bearings far exceeds that of mechanical
bearings for the simple reason that they have no contact or wear.
Heat generation in mechanical bearings sometimes require "warm
up" periods during which there is thermal movement. Also, the
mechanical preload on roller bearings can vary with temperature
and cause the bearings to operate differently (varying friction for
example) and lack repeatability. When working at the highest
accuracy levels, these effects can cause mechanical bearings to
lose their accuracy from hour to hour, day to day, or month to
month. Because the accuracy of our air bearings is built into its
solid metal components (made from one type of material for
uniform thermal expansion), they can operate for years without any
degradation in accuracy. This way, a calibration done one day will
"stick". They also can be run at top speed without any need for
warm-up time (excluding motor heating effects) and maintain their
best accuracy.
6.2 Preloading of Air bearings
While some configurations of air bearings are self-preloading (e.g.
journal bearings) others such as flat pads and linear rectangular
bearings can benefit from preload. Air bearings can be used
without any preload (such as a simple flat pad riding on a granite
surface), however, in order to maximize the stiffness of the air
bearing and help maintain constant air gap it is typical to preload it
using one of four basic methods:
 Weight Preload
 Vacuum Preload
 Magnetic Preload
 Opposing Air Bearing Preload
The simplest method is weight. Using a weight much heavier than
the expected variation in the loading of the bearing preloads the air
bearing so it rides at a smaller (and stiffer) air gap and makes it
less prone to height variations. This method has the drawback of

6.2.1 weight used to Preload bearing

adding moving mass but can work very will with systems which
already have a large amount of mass and low forces (such as parts
inspection). Needless to say, this only works for bearings which
operate horizontally.
The second method is using a vacuum preload. A vacuum is used
to apply a preloading force to the air bearing (instead of using a
weight). This is accomplished by providing an area of the bearing
surface over which a vacuum is applied. Because vacuum is limited
to around negative 14 psi (atmospheric pressure) and typical air

bearing pressures are 40-80 psi the net effect is still a lifting of the
6.2.2 vacuum preloaded
bearing, even when the bearing and vacuum areas are equal.
Vacuum preload enhances the stiffness and helps to maintain
constant air gap, without adding unnecessary moving mass. The
main drawbacks to this method are the need for a larger bearing
area to accommodate both pressure and vacuum and the
requirement of a vacuum source. This method has been used
successfully in many applications, especially for flat pads and
planar systems which do not lend themselves to other forms of
preload.
The third method of preloading is magnetic preload. Magnetic
attraction between a magnet on the moving part and a magnetic
material on the stationary part of the bearing loads the bearing and

6.2.3 magnetic preloaded

adds stiffness. This configuration works well for linear bearings
and can be very cost effective because it reduces the tolerances
required for the air bearing components (as compared to air
bearing preloaded systems). However, because many air bearings
are made from nonmagnetic materials, it requires adding other
materials to the bearing (such as iron). Another drawback is that at
high speeds, the magnet generates eddy currents in the iron which
oppose the motion and add a drag force (eliminating the "zero
friction" of air bearings). However, in many applications magnetic
preload provides an effective method of preloading air bearings.
The final method is opposing air bearing preload. This method uses
opposing air bearings to preload each other. This method provides
twice the stiffness of a single air bearing, although the load capacity
is reduced by almost half (the other preload methods also reduce
load capacity, based on the amount of force they apply) and is very
effective in producing the most accurate and reliable air bearings.

6.2.4 opposing air bearing preloaded

Because there are two air bearings working in parallel it also has
the effect of averaging any errors on either bearing (centering) and
can therefore deliver higher accuracy than any other method. In
addition, air bearing preloaded bearings can be operated in any
orientation. The majority of Nelson Air's standard bearings use this
method because we believe it provides the highest quality,
accuracy and versatility. However, this method does require higher
accuracy components with more precision surfaces.
6.3 Air bearing configuration
Now that you understand the basics of how air bearings work, here are some of the most
common configurations for using them to create motion with a variety of degrees of freedom. If
you have any additional questions, please contact us and we would enjoy assisting you.
6.3.1 Flat Pad: 6.3.2 Air Bushing/Journal Bearing:
Linear and Rotary Motion. Planar (XY) and Rotary Motion

6.3.3 Rectangular Air Bearing: 6.3.4 Dovetail Air Bearing:

Linear Motion Only. Linear Motion Only

6.3.5 Spherical Air Bearing: 6.3.6 Air bearing spindle:

3 Rotational Degrees of Freedom. Radial motion only,high radial loads
CHAPTER 7
AIR BEARING
ADVANTAGES-
DISADVANTAGES
7.1 ADVANTAGES
The advantages which air lubrication can offer stem from the properties of gases: first, they
are chemically stable over a wide temperature range and second they have inherently low
viscosities. However, even in this category it is often practical to design an alternative
device by a fundamentally different approach to the same job without air bearings, and so
it is really not feasible to draw a hard line between exclusive advantages and advantages of
degree. Nevertheless, it is believed that this way of thinking of the advantages available
does avoid some confusion of thought since it focuses attention upon aspects of a proposed
application in which the gas really may be doing something which no other lubricant could
possibly do for fundamental reasons and those in which there is merely competition in
regard to convenience or cost.

1.Low Friction

Of the more important exclusive advantages which are offered by air lubrication are those
cases where the low viscosity of gases as compared with liquids can be exploited to special
benefit. Particularly straightforward examples of this class of application are those which
occur in near-static apparatus such as gimbal support, dynamometers, wind-tunnel
balances and other specialized mechanical instruments which benefit from the extremely
low static frictional torque which externally pressurized bearings can offer. The use of a gas
permits a torque orders of magnitude smaller than could be achieved by liquids, but
perhaps in practice often of more importance is the fact that a low-torque bearing with an
appropriately large operating clearance can be made in a very simple and clean fashion
using gas lubrication. Air is usually employed, since the exhaust from the bearing can be
released to the surroundings and quite large flow rates can be employed.

In semiconductor machine tools, high-speed, acceleration and damping are key to product
throughput. The use of air bearings in such an application has found widespread use.
Experimental high speed linear slides of a composite lightweight structure have operated
at 14g acceleration for thousands of hours or repeated because of the low friction aspects
of air bearings. A mechanical rolling element-type bearing would never be able to satisfy
such a requirement. This low friction also finds uses in torque measuring equipment,
dynamic balancing machinery, semiconductor positioning systems, micro or zero gravity
trajectory simulators and other instruments requiring near-static conditions.

2.High Accuracy

The high accuracy of motion that can be obtained with air bearings is equally important in
some applications. Considerable differences in motion accuracy exist between rolling
element bearing supports and air bearing supports. In linear slides, for example, rolling
element bearings witness noise error (or rumbling) due to the ways' surface roughness
and/or eccentric rotation of the rollers or balls.

On the contrary, air bearings do not suffer from this difficulty. The reason for this lies in the
absence of surface contact between the bearing parts and the averaging action of the air
film over the various local surface irregularities present in the machined surfaces. Even the
finest of rolling element bearings are orders of the magnitude less accurate than air
bearings. In rotating air bearings, this effect produces high orders of rotational accuracy
and smoothness of travel. Typical T.I.R. for air bearing spindles are less than 1.0 µinch. For
linear slides, pitch, roll and yaw errors of much less than a fraction of an arc second are
attainable and straightness of travel errors on the order of nanometers have been achieved.

3.High Stiffness

At zero speed, air bearings provide considerably high stiffness characteristics. This same
effect is seen at zero or low loads. For properly designed and manufactured aerostatic
bearings, it is not uncommon to measure stiffness on the order of several million pounds
per inch.

4.Zero Wear

The advantage of zero wear can be seen greatly in externally pressurized or aerostatic
bearings and to some large degree in self-acting or aerodynamic bearings. Although some
properly designed rolling element bearings can achieve practical wear rates, none can
match the zero wear characteristic of aerostatic bearings. With aerodynamic bearings,
starting and stopping causes some rubbing within the bearing clearance, but this can be
alleviated by introducing a pulse of air just as the bearing begins translation. Furthermore,
as compared with rolling element bearings, air bearings do not suffer from increased wear
rates as the speed or load is increased. With proper care and maintenance, infinite life can
be expected from air bearings.

Note on crash resistance: allowing a bearing to crash or be overloaded to the grounded

state should never be a design feature. Crashed bearings are a sign of a much wider system
problem and should be corrected regardless of the type of bearing used.

4.Contamination

Gas lubrication has found a place of particular importance in circumstances where it is

necessary to keep the environment free from contamination by conventional lubricants.
Such situations arise in semiconductor wafer handling systems. In these situations, it may
be costly or impractical to manufacture a system which can effectively seal off
contaminants from oil lubricants used in roller slides. The externally pressurized air
bearing lends itself well to harsh environments where liquids, dust and contaminants are
present. The air bearing's great resilience stems from the fact that with positive pressure
existing inside the bearing, all foreign matter is repelled away from the critical bearing
surfaces. Externally pressurized bearings could operate while completely submerged in a
liquid. Unlike some rolling element bearing supports that require periodic maintenance,
cleaning, the addition of oil lubricants and sometimes the replacement or re-surfacing of
guide ways, the air bearing's self-cleaning nature allows it to be virtually maintenance-free.

5.Wide Temperature Range

Perhaps the most exclusive quality of gases as lubricants is their potential for operation
over extremely wide ranges of temperature. Indeed, it is the invulnerability of the solid
components of the machine, not that of the lubricant, which will set performance limits
when simple gases are used for high temperature lubricated applications, although at the
lower end of the temperature scale condensation of the gas may become a limitation.
Complex gases on the other hand will have decomposition limitations at the upper end of
their usable temperature range. No difficulty is seen, for example, at the hot end end of the
scale, in operating the bearings of small steam turbines or circulators upon superheated
steam, and, at the cold end, gases approaching their liquefaction temperatures could be
employed to lubricate the bearings of, for instance, gas liquefying turbines. In both
examples considerable simplification of design could thus be achieved in some situations. It
is noted that whereas with liquids bearing performance falls off with rise of temperature
due to fall in viscosity, in the case of gases, the load-carrying performance will in general
improve due to a rise in viscosity.

Externally pressurized ceramic bearings were operated at temperatures of up to 1,500°F

(800°C) at speeds of up to 65,000 rev/min. Low temperature applications of air bearings
have been largely confined to various types of expansion turbine gas liquefiers and to
refrigeration plant. A small high-speed expansion turbine for liquefying helium can operate
at 350,000 rev/min. This unit employs bearings which are lubricated by helium gas at a
temperature between 50° and 13°K, and the output of liquid helium is maintained at a pre-
selected temperature of between 3° and 4°K to an accuracy of 0.05°.

5.environmental advantage

Nowadays the air bearing’s popularity increases even in industries other than the classical air
bearing industries as it does not make any use of mineral oil-based or synthetic lubricants.

7.2 DIS- ADVANTAGES

Air bearings only have a few disadvantages. The main challenging issues are the high
geometrical accuracies which are required during manufacture. Another issue is the
supplied pressurized air which has to be clean and dry. Fundamentally air bearings require
some form of power consumption during operation to supply the high pressure air, unlike
mechanical systems which may operate without any power input (except mechanical
forces)
CHAPTER 8
AIR BEARING
APPLICATION