Floating Hydrostatic Bearings for Numerically Controlled Machine Tools

Abstract

The use of hydrostatic guideways in CNC machine-tools is very common as a result of their low friction coefficient. The major problem of hydrostatic guideways represents the recovery of the fluid used in guideways, where the fluid should be protected against mechanical impurities and then led towards the hydraulic aggregate. The floating support described in this paper resolves the collection of fluid by using a closed circuit, without exposing the fluid to mehanical impurities and to a gravitational collecting.