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Automobile Testing

 

New Way Air Bearings for Automobile Testing

New Way® Air Bearings are an enabling technology in today’s Formula 1 and other high-performance automobile testing wind tunnels. New Way’s Porous Media Technology™ provides a non-contact support bed for the rolling road belt allowing the test vehicle to experience accurate road velocity as well as wind speed. As tolerance requirements tighten, manufacturers are using air bearings in the inspection of critical automotive components. Many of the products listed below are also used in smaller vehicle test systems and single wheel test machines.

Flat Round and Rectangular Air Bearings

200mm flat round air bearingOur original flat round and rectangular air bearings are also a popular choice in the automobile testing industry. They are an affordable way to mix and match components to create a linear motion solution that works for your application. Both bearing shapes create Frictionless Motion® by forcing air through millions of submicron holes that are inherent to our porous carbon substrate. This creates a uniform cushion of air over the surface of the bearing allowing you to float your testbed at fly heights of 5μm. Our flat air bearings also come vacuum preloaded to further optimize the fly height and stiffness for precision linear motion.

Air Bushings

thrust bushings and air bushingsNew Way’s Air Bushings distribute air evenly around the inner diameter for inexpensive ‘rail-type’ linear motion. The porous media that lines the inside of the air bushings creates an 8μm cushion of air which can fly on standard shafts with surface finishes of 16 RMS or better. You will have greater confidence in automobile test results as the asynchronous and synchronous error motions normally found with ball bearings are completely eliminated. Our bushings come in a variety of both English and Metric sizes to fit any application.

Linear Slides and Bonded Bearings

linear slidesAir slides provide a compact, integrated guide and bearing system ready-fit for installation. New Way offers three types of slide assemblies in end-supported or continuously-supported configurations and a wide range of sizes. The dynamic response of our air slides and the straightness of motion they provide is orders of magnitude better than rolling element bearings.

bonded bearingsThe New Way Linear Motion Guide SystemTM is another option that is designed to match the form factor and footprint of conventional bearing systems. It makes it very easy to swap into your current vehicle testing process. We also offer bonded bearings with a low profile that can be custom designed in many rectangular configurations.

Air Spindles and Servo-Driven Rotary Stages

New Way Air Spindles create a stiff uniform layer of air between the rotor and the stator, providing rotary Frictionless Motion®, ideal for testing the roundness of automotive components such as:

  • Piston pins
  • Crankshafts
  • Cylinder bores

Sold individually, air spindles can be paired with the customer’s choice of motor/encoder. For customers looking for an integrated solution, New Way also offers Servo-Driven Rotary Stages. In this product, the air spindle is integrated with a high-performing motor/encoder, providing a precise and robust inspection solution unattainable by traditional and orifice-based air bearings.

Applications

Our Frictionless Motion®️ technology is ideally suited for automobile testing facilities.

New Way customer service technicians are standing by to discuss your automobile testing process. Contact us today!


Applications
Rotary Motion
Spindle on an industrial lathe.
Rotary Motion

For constraining and supporting the outer or inner diameter of a rotating assembly.


Products
Air Bushings
bushings
Air Bushings

Air Spindles
air spindles product by new way air bearings
Air Spindles

Bonded Bearings
bonded bearings
Bonded Bearings

Flat Rectangular Air Bearings
rectangle bearings
Flat Rectangular Air Bearings

Servo-Driven Rotary Stages
New Way's Servo-Driven Rotary Stages RT-100.
Servo-Driven Rotary Stages

Flat Round Air Bearings
round bearings
Flat Round Air Bearings

Linear Slides
linear slides
Linear Slides

Vacuum Preloaded Air Bearings
vacuum preloaded
Vacuum Preloaded Air Bearings

Contact us today for a complimentary consultation