Thanks. After this I read some comments at your site and I adapted a list about vacuum advantages: - Using vacuum, One does not need using opposing air bearings on parallel surfaces. - Incremental stiffness with a light load, - Adjustment of air film thickness can be used for focusing, squaring and sub-micro inch vertical positioning, - height of the bearing does not fluctuate when in transition, and it is naturally stable. It seems to me that, if I just want something to move a heavy granite block over another granite surface, maybe I don't need vacuum at such air bearings, right?
I could see this being used for say component placement on pcb's but you cant introduce any sort of load on the gantry. Which seriously restricts its usefulness.
Why couldn't you load the gantry? Air bearings are already used on CNC spindles and on axis motion for some machines. They work fine under reasonable loads.
![A build guide for DIY Air-Bearing Pads [4K]](/img/1.gif)
This is an amazing way to do the xyz gantry. But would a flooding system, with coolant, affect the machine in any way?
Is it noisy?
Great
At 0:27, why a vacuum area is necessary? Is there any problem about when it works without vacuum (or, with just one Air Inlet?)
Vacuum is used for preloading.
Thanks. After this I read some comments at your site and I adapted a list about vacuum advantages:
- Using vacuum, One does not need using opposing air bearings on parallel surfaces.
- Incremental stiffness with a light load,
- Adjustment of air film thickness can be used for focusing, squaring and sub-micro inch vertical positioning,
- height of the bearing does not fluctuate when in transition, and it is naturally stable.
It seems to me that, if I just want something to move a heavy granite block over another granite surface, maybe I don't need vacuum at such air bearings, right?
Correct, just as with an air hockey table. The vacuum is there to increase the stiffness and keep the air film very constant
I could see this being used for say component placement on pcb's but you cant introduce any sort of load on the gantry. Which seriously restricts its usefulness.
Why couldn't you load the gantry? Air bearings are already used on CNC spindles and on axis motion for some machines. They work fine under reasonable loads.
step above ceramic for sure.