THE EFFECT OF STATOR AND ROTOR FORM ERROR ON AIR BEARING SPINDLE ACCURACY
Open Access
- Author:
- Nevel, James Robert
- Area of Honors:
- Mechanical Engineering
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Eric Russell Marsh, Thesis Supervisor
Eric Russell Marsh, Thesis Supervisor
James Gordon Brasseur, Thesis Honors Advisor
Dr. Karen Ann Thole, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- spindle accuracy
form errors
lobing designs
spindle error
high pressure air bearing - Abstract:
- The error motion of an air bearing reflects the interaction between the spinning rotor and stator components’ form errors through the pressurized air film. Due to the nature of the machining and production process of rotor and stator components, long-wavelength geometric flaws, known as form errors, can be found on the air bearing surfaces. These form errors can be an influence to the operation of the spindle and are suspected to be causes of a decrease in spindle accuracy. An exploration of the effects of these surface flaws in relation to spindle accuracy will be done through calculation and simulation. Geometric errors in the rotor and stator of a high precision spindle were modeled using a discretized set of stiffness elements interacting with non-round stator and rotor surfaces. A complete outline of the equations used to determine the spindle error is included. The governing equation was formulated to map the x and y components of the spindle error during operation by minimizing the potential energy stored in the air film. We investigated the process of incorporating lobing into the rotor and stator to reduce error from geometric manufacturing flaws to increase precision and accuracy through a theoretical approach. It was determined that lobe designs in the rotor and stator will not affect spindle performance due to the smoothing effect of the air during spindle operation.