OAB (OILES Air Bearings) Instruction Manual

6. Precautions for Operation

Selection GuideOILES air bearings are hydrostatic gas bearings featuring various advantages such as high speed, high accuracy, and ultra-lowfriction.
Read all the following operating instructions to prevent malfunctions caused by transportation, mounting, or air supply.

ProductInformation

・When a transporter is used, special caution should be exercised not to damage the product with the transporterʼs metal claws.
・As a guideline for the operating environment, the temperature should be 23 C ± 5 C and humidity 70% or lower.
・Let the product stand at room temperature sufﬁciently in order to avoid condensation before opening the package.

or oil is trapped.
2) Before restarting operation after a long-term suspension, thoroughly blow air in the same way.
3) Supply clean, dry air to the air bearing for about 30 minutes before using it.
4) In using an air bearing for rotation, mounting of a greatly unbalanced rotating body may lead to contact between the shaft andthe bearing during high-speed rotation, resulting in severe damage. In high-speed rotation, correct the dynamic balance inaccordance with the rotation speed used. (recommended JIS B 0905 (ISO1940-1) balance quality grade: G0.4)
5) In high-speed rotation use, take risk prevention measures by installing a cover to prevent rotating bodies from shattering.
6) Take measures not to allow heat from heating bodies such as a motor (power source) to have an inﬂuence on the air bearing.
Strain caused by expansion due to heat may become a cause for malfunction.

2. Precautions for operation

7. When Not in Use and Storage

1) During operation, wear rubber- or polyurethane-based gloves from which fibers do not come off and avoid handling air

1) The air supply to the air bearing may be stopped when it is not moving or not in use. For rust prevention, however, maintain orbearings with bare hands.
Pay attention not to touch the porous material (bearing surface) even when you are wearing gloves.
2) Do not allow any liquid such as water, oil, or organic solvent to adhere to the porous material (bearing surface). It may
signiﬁcantly deteriorate the performance of the bearing.
3) If a stain adheres to the porous material (bearing surface), thoroughly blow air on the stain and then wipe it with a dry wiperfrom which ﬁbers do not easily come off.

store it in an indoor environment where condensation due to high temperatures and humidity can be avoided.
2) When air bearings are not used for a long time, you are recommended to take measures against the occurrence of unexpectedmovement without air supply at the start of operation.
3) When air bearings are stored because they are not used for a long time, pay particular attention to rust prevention by sealing
them in a plastic bag together with a desiccant, for example. However, do not apply anti-rust oil. If the oil enters the bearing
clearance, it may cause a malfunction such as making the bearing unable to move smoothly.

3. How to Mount

8. Troubleshooting

1) Pad and Flange bushing1) The movement of the air bearing is not smooth.

Multi-layer Bearing
Metallic Bearing
Air Bearings
Slide Shifter

Many of the malfunctions of air bearings are caused by insufﬁciently controlled air supply.
The air supply should be equivalent to JIS B 8392-1 (ISO8573-1) compressed-air purity class of 1.6.1 (clean, dry air through aﬁlter of 0.3μm or smaller in a dry air).
1) Never move the air bearing and the mating material without supplying air.
2) The standard (recommended) supply air pressure is 0.5 MPa (gauge pressure).
3) Ensure that the discharge capacity ﬂow rate of the supply air source is greater than or equal to twice the consumption ﬂowrate.
4) The internal diameters of piping tubes should be φ4 or more, unless otherwise speciﬁed.

* Recommended equipment for air supply control
Condensation or drain condensate in the air supply is one of the causes of seizure of air bearings.
Especially in high-humidity environments, problems caused by condensation frequently occur. Therefore, it is recommended
that the following pneumatic devices be installed in the air supply piping.
Refrigerated
air dryer

Mistseparator

Membranedryer

Air bearing

5. Interlock Setting

supplied. The flow rate varies depending on the clearance, which is called consumption flowrate. NL/min indicates the flow rate per minute at the reference condition (0 C, 1 atmosphericpressure).
Stiffness ......................... A Stiffness indicates the displacement of the shaft against the load (N/μｍ ) and the value varies
depending on the load condition and the clearance setting.
...............
A load capacity is the allowable load at usual use.
Load capacity

Corporate Profile

It is recommended that an interlock be set to prevent the bearings from moving without an air supply or under reduced supply airpressure.

・Glossary
Bearing flow rate ........ A bearing flow rate is the flow rate when a mating material is set to the air bearing and air isTechnical
Information

Air tank

Possible causes include dropping, impact, inferior installation, and overload operation. Contact us if repair is required.

Slide ShifterTechnical
Information

Lack in the dynamic balance of the rotating body may be the cause. Check the balance and correct if required.

3) Movement accuracy is not good.
Air Bearings

Corporate Profile

4. Control of Supply Air

Metallic Bearing

2) In the use of a radial air bearing for rotational movement, the entire system or the rotating body
vibrates significantly.

Pay attention not to set the dimension of the housing bore too tight.

Compressor

clearance. Check the normal supply condition.
・In the event of penetration of water droplets or drain condensate, supply air for drying for 12 hours or longer.

Multi-layer Bearing

2) Straight bushing・Possible causes are decrease of supply air pressure and penetration of water droplets or drain condensate into the bearing

Plastic Bearing

283

When screws are used to mount the product, set the target flatness of the mounting surface at 2 μm or less in order tominimize the strain caused by stress.Polish the mounting surface with an oilstone brieﬂy to remove burrs and scratches.

ProductInformation

Plastic Bearing

OILES air bearings are ultra-precise products. Avoid dropping or other impacts, and transportation or use under strong vibrations.

Selection Guide

1. Transportation and Operating Environment

1) Before installing piping to an air bearing, blow air into the tubes thoroughly to conﬁrm that no drain condensate, ﬁne particles,284

Slide Shifters・Guide Units / Technical Information

Corporate Profile

TechnicalInformation

Slide Shifter

Air Bearings

Metallic Bearing

Multi-layer Bearing

Plastic Bearing

ProductInformation

Selection Guide

Running cost reduction285

Oiles air bearings have a unique porous restrictor that reduces air comsumption and reduces
running cost.
■Cost calculation
Running cost of air supply＝operating time(h)×number of equipment(pc)×flow rate(m3/h)×air cost(¥/m3）
Operating time : 480,000min/year (8,000/year)
Flow rate : Porous
1.6L/min
Inherent-orifice 6.5L/min
Number of pad : 10pc
Air cost* : ￥0.002/L

Flow rate Comparative test result(Internal experiment)
L/min765432106.5

Shape : PadSize : φ50
Air gap : 10μm

*Reference value.

1.6Approx. 1/4 reduction.
Inherent-orifice
restrictor

Porousrestrictor

Slide Shifters
S Type ……………………………………………… P.287
SE Type …………………………………………… P.291
BA Type (BTCA) ………………………………… P.301
BA Type (BTSA) ………………………………… P.305
BC Type …………………………………………… P.307
BF Type …………………………………………… P.311
Oiles Guide Shafts …………………………… P.319
BTU Type ………………………………………… P.323
Guide Units
Oiles 500 Guide Units BK Type …………… P.327
Oiles 500 Guide Units BT Type …………… P.331
Technical Information
Durability Test Data …………………………… P.335
To Prevent Malfunctioning ………………… P.336
How to Set Driving Force …………………… P.337
How to Calculate Service Life ……………… P.338
Calculation Examples of Four Erecting Dual-Axis Tables (S Type) … P.339
Calculation Examples of Four Lengthwise Vertical Dual-Axis Tables (BF Type) … P.341

ResultPorous
restrictor¥16,000/Year

Inherent-orifice
restrictor¥64,000/Year

Difference of¥240,000
in 5 Years

SupportIn order to ensure that you can use Oiles air bearings with peace of mind, we provide all kinds ofsupport, from hearing issues to setting goals, technical proposals, performance verification, anddelivery.
■Workflow

Introduction of products(Rental demo product is available)
Hearing issues and setting goals
Design proposal(Air bearings)
Technical proposal(mating and related parts)

We have demo products available for rent. If isa simple test, you can try is on the demo
products.
Oiles air bearings are manufactured tocustomer specifications. We can propose
dimensions, shapes, and performance thatmeet your needs. We also make designproposals for units including peripheral parts.
Quality is guaranteed by measuring andmanaging the individual performance values ofeach product. It is also possible to submit achecklist of individual performance values.

Test evaluation and verification
Inspection before shipment

As an expert, we will contribute tosolving customer problems byproposing optimal technology.
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