Study on reduction of nano-fluctuations of aerostatic bearing with surface restriction

In our laboratory, a new actuator 'pneumatic servo actuator' that consists of aerostatic bearing and pneumatic servo valve has been proposed for ultra precise positioning. The actuator can realise the ultraprecise positioning by controlling inlet air pressure using pneumatic servo valve. However, it has been reported that aerostatic bearings bring on nano-fluctuations of the supported object because of their small damping characteristics. In this paper, the order of nano-fluctuations occurring in the aerostatic bearing and its conditions were investigated, and the design of a new type of bearing that has smaller fluctuations was presented.