Retrofit Bearings

 

Retrofit Bearings

air-turn-brochure-new-way-air-bearings

Download the Retrofitting with Air Bearings infographic

New Way® Porous Media™ Air Bearings aren’t just an option for brand new machines, but also represent immense potential for retrofitting older machines, and even servicing machines with bearings that simply can’t be procured anymore. New Way has a long history of leveraging our in-house engineering and turnkey manufacturing to provide original equipment manufacturer (OEMs) and rebuilders with porous media air bearings in drop-in configurations, custom builds, and even matching the specifications on competitor’s products, if desired.

A History of Rebuilding

For years now, New Way Air Bearings has provided compatible air bearings for Sheffield Checkmate Coordinate Measuring (CMM) machines, not only increasing their lifespan but also providing boosts to accuracy as well. For Sheffield CMMs, now under the ownership of Hexagon, our bearings can simply be dropped into the machine with minimal modification.

Our experience with retrofitting and servicing Sheffield bearings is so extensive, we’ve cross-referenced Sheffield CMM’s part numbers and can readily provide you with the make, model, and quantity of our porous media products needed for a complete rebuild of the system.

This service has also been provided to Cannon for their semiconductor lithography steppers, allowing them imaging resolution below 0.35 microns. New Way has an extensive history of working with CMM and system rebuilders to meet their exacting needs. Just a few of the clients we’ve worked with are:

Exacting Standards and Custom Engineering

The process of retrofitting air bearings dovetails neatly with our in-house engineering expertise and custom product design capability. Our bearings can be retrofitted into any applicable system with matching constraints and axes of motion. And, we fully understand no two systems are alike.

Every new retrofit and service product receives our undivided attention, and our engineering team will evaluate the system in question to ensure the upgrade process is seamless, matching your old bearing’s tolerances, and even competing brands of orifice air bearings.

Applications

There’s virtually no limit to which types of our air-bearing catalog can be retrofitted into an old machine, and so applications are only limited by your imagination. Below, are just a few examples of the industries which have benefited, and stand to benefit from retrofitting their systems with porous media air bearings.

Retrofit Bearings Product Line

These bearings are offered in a variety of custom sizes, contact New Way Air Bearings for more information.


Custom Retrofit Bearings
New Way Air Bearings Retrofitted by IBS Precision Engineering.
Custom Retrofit Bearings

Sheffield Retrofit Bearings
Sheffield Retrofit Bearings

Canon Stepper Bearings
Canon Stepper Bearings



CUSTOMER PROVEN SOLUTIONS

Keck Observatory Improves Operations with New Way Air Bearings

Keck Observatory Improves Operations with New Way Air Bearings

Keck Observatory, often considered the world’s most scientifically productive observatory, turned to New Way when they needed help replacing their rolling-bearing-based rotary encoder. A system built on radial and flat round air bearings allowed for a new 1-meter diameter rotary table, cutting acquisition time by 75% and reducing maintenance to near zero.

Magtrol’s Use of Air Bearings in Test Suite Improves Product Quality

Magtrol’s Use of Air Bearings in Test Suite Improves Product Quality

Magtrol Inc., a leader in torque measurement for small motors, recognized the unique capability of air bearings to provide frictionless torque measurements. They upgraded their calibration suits through radial air bearings and air bushings, providing a frictionless solution backed by engineering support they could trust.

New Way Solves Medical Manufacturing Precision Woes for Sytech

New Way Solves Medical Manufacturing Precision Woes for Sytech

Sytech Systems, Inc. provides hardware and software integration solutions, and when a medical client required precision beyond what an off-the-shelf manufacturing robot could provide, they called New Way. We worked to integrate flat round air bearings, developing a system with motion error below 1/1000 of an inch.

New Way Solves Straightness & Flatness Constraints for Axis

New Way Solves Straightness & Flatness Constraints for Axis

New Way partnered with Axis New England, a firm specializing in robotic and machine automation for the lithography, semiconductor, and precision optics industry. We provided them with a solution built on flat round air bearings to meet the needs of a customer who produces ultra-high format printers, allowing for high speeds and precise positioning.

Discover the Porous Media Difference Today