Patent ID: 7112019

Claim:
Spindle ( 1 ), comprising: an outer case ( 1 c ) terminating at one end with a flange ( 7 ) having an aperture ( 6 ); a moving part ( 2 ) located co-axially within the outer case and extending through the aperture; a tool-holding collet ( 3 ) fixed to the moving part, the collet outwardly projecting from an end-most portion of the moving part; an air directing means ( 8 ) attached to an exterior surface of the flange at the aperture and surrounding the end-most portion of the moving part, an end-most portion of the collet extending outwardly beyond an end-most portion of the air directing means; an aerostatic bush generating a jet of compressed air that forms a cushion of air circulating continuously along air gaps ( 5 ) located between the moving part and the aerostatic bush and exits out of the case via a path defined by the air directing means at an outlet located intermediate the end-most portion of the air directing means and the end-most portion of the moving part, the moving part ( 2 ) supported by the cushion of air generated by a jet of compressed air, wherein, the air directing means ( 8 ) is shaped to collect the air exiting out of the outlet in a first direction and to redirect the exiting air from the first direction to a second direction with an outward direction of motion (E) tangential to the end-most part ( 3 t ) of the collet, the redirected exiting air moving roughly parallel to an axis of the spindle ( 1 ).