Why use an Air Bearing?

Below are the advantages (and disadvantages) of air bearings:-

Advantages

• Non contacting bearing – low friction
• Ability to operate over a wide speed range - from  zero to in excess of 350,000 rpm
• High stiffness
• High rotational accuracy  - Low spindle error motion
• Long life due to non-contacting surfaces
• Low heat generation

Disadvantages

• High geometry accuracies required during manufacture
• Clean and dry supply of pressurised air