Specifications Sheet
New Way® Air Spindles provide a frictionless alternative to magnetic, oil, or bearing-based spindle solutions. Through the use of our Porous Media Technology™, we generate a micro-thin cushion of air between the rotor and the stator, eliminating sub-synchronous motion and reducing asynchronous error by orders of magnitude.
Unlike complex magnetic suspension or oil-based lubrication systems, the air spindle’s Frictionless Motion®️ means zero dynamic, contacting components, eliminating mechanical wear, and increasing the lifespan of your assemblies. With friction eliminated, air spindles open the door to far faster rotational speeds, providing faster motion while retaining a degree of accuracy only limited by the servo and controller system you choose.
New Way Air Spindles are an exceptionally low flow technology, taking almost six hours to push one cubic meter of air through a 50mm x 100mm bearing, and thus, are extremely efficient in operation when compared to orifice-based systems. If airflow is somehow disrupted to the air bearing, the porous nature of the bearing surface means depressurization will occur slowly, allowing for a soft landing, ensuring the spindle and the guide surface remain undamaged. Contrast this with orifice and magnetic bearings which can often fail in catastrophic ways, and we see how air spindles provide all the benefits with none of the drawbacks.
Click to view full testing and analysis report
The unique nature of our porous media products makes air spindles an inherently cleanroom compatible technology. While air is already cleaned and filtered prior to entering the bearing, the size of the openings in the bearing face acts as a natural sib-micron filter. Internal testing by New Way places all of our bearing products as being ISO Class 3 cleanroom compliant (less than 1,000 x 0.1μm particles / m3), and arguably even meeting the stringent requirements for ISO Class 1.
For the modern manufacturing facility, whether it be pharmaceutical, semiconductors, or aerospace, cleanroom manufacturing is rapidly becoming a best practice, and air spindles are up to the task.
All air spindles come in a variety of sizes and stator configurations to accommodate an array of rotary applications. Air spindles can be paired with a motor/encoder of your choice. Or, if you desire a fully integrated solution, New Way also offers Servo-Drive Rotary Stages, capable of 1.1-arcsecond precision.
New Way also has a proud history of providing bespoke engineering solutions, so if you need something made to your exact specifications, we have the in-house design and manufacturing expertise to make that happen.
New Way Air Spindles are ideally suited to a wide variety of uses across testing, inspection, web handling, and positioning applications. They can be employed in textiles, aerospace, pharmaceuticals, and innumerable precision industries thanks to their Frictionless Motion®️ and resilient construction.
Don’t see your application listed? Tell us more about your precision rotary needs so we can find the right air-bearing solution for you.
Air spindles are available in a wide range of standard sizes, in both round and square stator configurations, for your specific application. Don’t see your size here? Contact us to discuss custom options.
| Size | Part # | Input Pressure | Axial Load | Radial Load | Axial and Radial Error Motion | Max. Speed | Average No Load Flow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14.8 in375 mm | SS-375SS-375 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 2373 lbs10554 (N) | 563 lbs2502 (N) | 15.7 μin0.4 (uM) | 2616 (RPM)2616 (RPM) | 100.0 SCFH43.24 NLPM |
| 9.8 in250 mm | SS-250SS-250 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 952 lbs4233 (N) | 249 lbs1108 (N) | 7.9 μin0.2 (uM) | 3979 (RPM)3979 (RPM) | 60.0 SCFH25.94 NLPM |
| 5.9 in150 mm | SS-150SS-150 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 312 lbs1387 (N) | 89 lbs396 (N) | 3.9 μin0.1 (uM) | 6586 (RPM)6586 (RPM) | 51.0 SCFH22.05 NLPM |
| 3.9 in100 mm | SS-100SS-100 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 132 lbs585 (N) | 49 lbs216 (N) | 3.9 μin0.1 (uM) | 9554 (RPM)9554 (RPM) | 34.0 SCFH14.70 NLPM |
| 3.0 in75 mm | SS-75SS-75 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 64 lbs286 (N) | 26 lbs117 (N) | 3.9 μin0.1 (uM) | 13274 (RPM)13274 (RPM) | 28.0 SCFH12.11 NLPM |
| 2.2 in55 mm | SS-55SS-55 | 60 psi0.41 MPa | 21 lbs91 (N) | 9 lbs41 (N) | 3.9 μin0.1 (uM) | 21739 (RPM)21739 (RPM) | 23.5 SCFH10.16 NLPM |
+Vantage Corporation started by providing metrology and assembly solutions to the automation industry, and now provides full integration for robots and sensors. They turned to New Way to help build precision inspection stages, including a piston pin inspection stage built on T-series Air Spindles.
If you have questions about air spindles or already have an application in mind, contact us for a free consultation!
