Assembling the air slide:
Click on any picture for a larger version.
Setting up the granite way for assembly and testing of the air bearing
cart, position sensor, and motor.
Cart with air bearings, assembled. Motor coil (visible as black
vertical strip) can be seen at center, mounted under the cart's front
plate (here, at top of cart) on an aluminum strip, which is thermally
isolated by an oak block and stainless steel flexure. Gold strip on
inside of left side of granite way is the Heidenhain position sensor
tape.
Cart, showing motor coil mounting strip (aluminum) and its thermal
isolators.
Cart, with clear view of motor coil and three of the air bearings
(blue).
Cart, showing air bearing pads (blue, at L and R under front plate,
and at top inside right plate, which is at the right in this
view). Precision adjusting screws are visible above right-hand
bearing under front plate, amid the tubing carrying the bearings'
compressed air supply. Accelerometer block visible at left, on top of
front plate. Adjusting screws are also visible above the pair of
bearings at "top" of front plate (at top rear in this view). You are
facing the bottom of the granite way. Steel inserts for mounting
bolts are visible.
Right side of cart showing manifold for bearing air and air bearing
mounted on stainless steel flexure, which provides preload even as
cart expands with temperature.
Movie of torsion-bar bouncer:
When ball-bearing slide is replaced with air slide, the motion will be
substantially quieter, and will have less vibration and friction.
Torsion bar bouncer (11 MB, .mov)
Laser Gauge:
Laser Gauge
The first version of the bouncer and slide:
Apparatus, 1
Apparatus, 2
