Linear Slides
New Way® Linear Air Slides provide a non-contact air bearing alternative to conventional bearing-based slides. Packaged as an integrated system, New Way Linear Air Slides are comprised of a porous carbon air bearing media housed in aluminum (the ‘stage’) and a precision aluminum guide rail.
The linear air slides feature our patented air bearing design, Porous Media Technology™, which removes friction by distributing a thin and stiff layer of air across the bearing face. The natural permeability of the carbon ensures an even flow of air. This unique design offers improvement in both precision and operational efficiencies, as well as a robust, crash-resistant design in the event of air supply failure.
- Improved Precision
- Reduced Maintenance
- Four Solutions—Same Fundamentals
- End-Supported Air Slides
- Dovetail Air Slides
- Boxway Air Slides
- AirWay® Linear Motion Guide System
- Clean Room Compliant
- Custom
Improved Precision
A key differentiator of New Way Air Slides is our unique mechanism for integrating the slide and the rail. Vacuum replication is used to position the stage against the rail, eliminating vibration and harmonic noise. The resultant superior stability, straightness, and stiffness ensure nano-level positioning is achieved each and every time.
Reduced Maintenance
The use of air greatly reduces the maintenance profile in operations. Not only are there no burdensome lubrication requirements to perform, but contamination and outgassing concerns become obsolete.
Four Solutions—Same Fundamentals
New Way offers four types of linear slides to accommodate a wide range of customer requirements. All built on our foundational Porous Media Technology™, each type provides standard off-the-shelf options in terms of slide size and rail length. Custom slides are also available.
End-Supported Air Slides
The simplest of the slides, End-Supported Air Slides are designed for use in situations where continuous support of the slide is impossible or impractical. End-Supported slides are often used in a gantry in traditional X/Y axis configurations, yet can also be used in the Z axis by fixing the stage and moving the guide bar for controlling probes.
Dovetail Air Slides
The Dovetail series features a lean, low profile track providing high and consistent acceleration even with moderate loads. The guide bar is mounted in continuous support configurations. These linear air slides can also be stacked and include mounts for encoders and non-contact linear motors.
Boxway Air Slides
The Boxway slides partner our widest stage with a T-shaped rail, enabling the largest load capacity. Boxway slides are continuously-supported, and also include mounts for non-contact linear motors and encoders.
AirWay® Linear Motion Guide System
The AirWay system is designed as an alternative for existing rolling element guide systems bolted to a flat surface. Once the current system is unscrewed and removed, the AirWay system is designed to be bolted back down in the same place. It is used in the same manner, but now with all the benefits of Frictionless Motion™.
Clean Room Compliant
Click to view full testing and analysis report
The unique use of porous media in thrust bushings makes them ideal for clean room use. Not only is less air used in thrust bushings when compared to orifice-based air bearings, but the air is evenly distributed by the porous media. Both of these features minimize the potential of currents or eddies in the clean room and its damaging impacts on production.
Another benefit of the use of porous media is its ability to perform as a sub-micron filter for the air emitted. Testing indicates the bearing satisfies the requirements of Class 1 (ISO class 3) cleanliness, with airborne particulate concentrate limits of less than 1,000 x 0.1μm particles / m3.
Custom
New Way also offers customers the ability to provide their own slide for integration into a slide series. Contact us to tell us more about your application to get you started!
- No Contact
- No Noise
- No Wear
- No Lubrication
- High-speed
- No vibration
- Nano-precision positioning
- Increased reliability
- Crash resistant
- Clean Room Class 1 Compliant
- Increased operations time
- Less maintenance downtime
Applications
New Way offers four types of linear slides to accommodate a wide range of customer requirements. All built on our foundational Porous Media TechnologyTM , each type provides standard off-the-shelf options in terms of slide size and rail length. Custom slides are also available.
- High-speed operations concurrent with nano-level precision improve both production quantity and quality
- Contamination and outgassing concerns are overcome with the use of air over traditional lubricants, making them ideal for clean-room operations
- The even distribution of air by Porous Media Technology not only provides sub-nanometer precision but inherently provides a crash-resistant design, minimizing potential damage
- Operational efficiencies are gained as maintenance downtime is reduced
- Non-contact motion coupled with vacuum replication provide the confidence demanded by an industry where precision is vital
- Versatile design enables use in vertical applications for probes/sensors, as well as traditional horizontal applications
- With vibration and harmonic noise removed, grinding operations achieve high precision, repeatedly
- Use of air instead of lubricants obviates concerns of contamination
Linear Slides Product Line
Discover the benefits, applications and specifications of non-contact linear air slides
Learn More About the Porous Media Difference
