material & coating for air bearings

[johnboy]

I have just designed an air bearing for a lightly loaded application using calculations from a book.<br>It has been manufactured and worked superbly when first tried until the outer sleeve (aluminium) particles I think jammed it up when it rubbed when the air was turned off.<br>The shaft which is static is steel en24 T<br>I was trying to keep the cost down and didnt grind finish and hone the bore of the sleeve. Am I expecting too much here.<br>What materials should I use and surface treatment? and what surface finish is critical for it to work?

 

[BigAL]

Dear John,<br><br>Looks like you have run into the lubrication problem of keeping you friction materials apart. Morgan Construction makes a fluid bearing that is similar to an air bearing. When the rotation was stopped, the inside sleeve and the outside sleeve came into contact. They developed a hydrostatic lube system that kept the sleeves apart even at stand still. <br>Unless you design the parts as if there were no air, this will continue to happen.<br>There is a company that is in New York state that makes a plastic -teflon bearing for riding on a smooth shaft.