After all, it is more difficult to accelerate 1000 grams than 100 grams. Despite the all-aluminium housing of our air bearings, this is a component of the bearing that offers potential for weight reduction.
Image source: Demcon High-Tech Systems
An application in which an artefact moves linearly over a length of approximately 1 metre with an extreme high acceleration is, of course, very specific and is only found in a niche market. That is why the company approached us for the development of a set of 4 carbon fibre housing flat round air bearings. IBS had previously worked with New Way Air Bearings and a fibre partner to create a carbon fibre version of the rectangular air bearings. Though experimental, it did prove that it was possible. Nevertheless, the challenges for this project were a step beyond that due to the extreme conditions we had to deal with.
Lightweight was key in this project, but this could not be at the expense of strength, because a weak bearing cannot withstand forces of this extreme high acceleration. That is why a carbon fibre housing was chosen. This material is extremely strong and, thanks to its structure, incredibly lightweight. A number of iterations were required to achieve the right combination of weight and strength for the fibre housing. This housing was then equipped with the porous material that makes air bearing technology possible.
Another important factor in high acceleration is the centre of gravity of the artefact. This has to be as low as possible for optimal force distribution and higher stability. This was accomplished by a custom mounting solution, which has been incorporated into the design of the custom bearing housing.
These developments have resulted in a flat round air bearing with a weight reduction of more than 65%, which means a huge gain in terms of the total weight of the artefacts to be moved. There has also been no loss in other specifications compared to a standard bearing, such as stiffness and ideal load.
Developing these custom air bearings was a challenge for us, as experts in the field of precision motion control engineering. It demonstrates our commitment to precision engineering in unique and specialised applications. Do you have an application that is so unique that it requires ultra-precision technology? Contact us straight away, we are always keen to collaborate on solving these engineering challenges with our expertise and experience.
