Vacuumpreloaded air bearings

02/01/1998

Vacuum preloaded air bearings

Because these vacuum preloaded air bearings hold themselves down while gliding at a predetermined height above the guide surface, they allow even lightly loaded stages to operate with high stiffness with damping. The bearings do not require two parallel flat guide surfaces, and both x and y axes can be supported by a single bearing plane, eliminating the need for stacked linear axes. The bearings eliminate the pitch and roll errors inherent in stacked axes and reduce stack height and Abbe errors. The ability to adjust the vacuum and air pressure allows for optimum flying height and stiffness. New Way Machine Components Inc., Aston, PA; ph 800/394-1046, fax 610/494-0911, [email protected], www.newwaybearings.com.