STATIC TILT CHARACTERISTICS OF AEROSTATIC RECTANGULAR DOUBLE-PAD THRUST-BEARINGS WITH DOUBLE ROW ADMISSIONS

Aerostatic thrust bearings have been used in linear guideway systems o f various precision measuring apparatus by reasons of low friction, no n-hysteresis and high accuracy of motion. In such a case that the meas uring systems do not satisfy the Abbe principle, the accuracy of linea r guideway systems is greatly influenced by the tilt characteristics i n pitch, roll and yaw directions of aerostatic thrust bearings. This p aper proposes the application of aerostatic rectangular double-pad thr ust bearings with double row admissions of compound restrictors to the linear guideway systems subjected to tilt moments in both pitch and r oll directions, and investigates, theoretically and experimentally, th e static tilt characteristics of these aerostatic thrust bearings. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.