Preloading and Stiffness of Air Bearings

Bearing plays a rather important role in our industries

. There are various factors related with it such as the environment, preload, and stiffness, etc. All these various factors may have much effect on the bearing performance. Air bearing is a special kind of products. The above mentioned factors can also have much effect on them. It is quite necessary to study these factors in detail.

Firstly, let us see the effects of environment on the air bearing performance. Temperature is an important element for every bearing product. Room temperature is suitable for the air bearings. A variance of +/-30F is acceptable in almost all applications. You should pay much attention to thermal effects on the structure of products. Besides, oil dripping and water dripping can cause many problems to air bearings. They will fill the air gap and create drag. Therefore, they should be avoided on the guide.

Secondly, stiffness is a significant factor in overall performance. It is an important factor when designing any precision motion system. The higher the stiffness, the less compliance there will be when loads are applied. There are many factors which can determine stiffness in air bearings such as the pressure in air gap, the thickness of the air gap, and the projected surface area of the bearing.

Thirdly, the preloading is also quite important to air bearings. It has a close relationship with stiffness. It is a method of increasing bearing stiffness that is used for all types of bearings. Preloading follows different rules in different kinds of bearings. For example, preloading in roller bearings follows the rules of Hertz Ian contact stresses, while it follows the rules of fluid dynamics in air bearings. In air bearings the load is transmitted through an air gap that is projected over an area several orders of magnitude larger than roller bearings. When air bearings are loaded, the air gap gets smaller and the pressure in the air film rises.

There are various ways of preloading air bearings. They can be preloaded by using added mass, magnets, vacuum, or by using another air bearing. For instance, they can be preloaded with vacuum. Air bearing lands or inactive surfaces which are finished at the same plane as the bearing face can be used as a vacuum seal. It is counter intuitive that an air gap which is being pressurized with air can be a seal for the vacuum, but it works quite nicely.

It is normal that there are many other factors which can also have effect on air bearings. But according to the above, we can safely draw the conclusion that environment, preload, and stiffness obviously have a close relationship with air bearings. They are quite important to these bearing products.

Preloading and Stiffness of Air Bearings

By: Lois Ling

POST COMMENT

Importance of Project Planner by Gautam Koppala Ball Bearings And Ways Of Improving Their Efficiency How To Get Rid Of Bed Bugs On Your Own Parejas Más Felices Viajando Por Separado Transforming The Perfect Bedroom Should I Give Him Space During The Trial Separation? How To Get Your Husband Back After A Separation: Step By Step The Importance of Fuel Efficiency Do you have erotic dreams? Cestas para Presente - Agrade Presenteando com Cestas Cheap Soundproofing Solution To Soundproof A Room How Important Should Alexa Ranking Be Considered? Vision Shopsters: EDP Commercial & Industrial Customer Billing: A Case Study