What is a hydrostatic bearing?

The hydrostatic bearing is a mechanical device that uses nothing but a thin film of liquid or gas to support its load. The hydrostatic bearing, also known as the fluid bearing, uses an externally pressure source of air, oil or water to create a barrier film between the outer bearing cover and the shaft it supports. The shaft rotation rate then maintains high pressure in the surrounding fluid, which supports the shaft with very small friction. Hydrostatic bearings are used in applications where high working loads, speeds and accuracy requirements require long life, low noise and minimal vibration. The hydrostatic bearing brings much better performance in these areas and is much more cost -effective than conventional ball bearings or cylinders. The fluid enters the bearing through restrictive opening and is held in the bearing cavity by sealing. If part of the fluid should escape, the gap between the shaft and the case will be reduced, causing the pressure in the liquid to increase.This increase in pressure forces the surfaces again, causing the fluid to be mainly regulated and allows very fine tolerance control.

Compared to balls or cylinder bearings, hydrostatic bearings are very simple in design, production and operation. Conventional bearings require accurate machining of balls or cylinders and the inner and outer covers in which they run. Bearings with balls and cylindrical bearings also create a considerable amount of noise and vibrations that make them undesirable for high -precision use. The hydrostatic bearing runs with very small friction and vibration and generates almost no noise. This makes it ideal for high accuracy applications such as disk units.

Hydrostatic bearings are also cheaper for maintaining and have particularly long lives of services. A good example of this longevity is a set of hydrostatic bearing installed in the Holtwood hydroelectric plant in Pennsylvania.These deposits were installed in 1912 and have been running continuously since no parts have been replaced. Manufacturers calculate that bearings would have a life -free service life of approximately 1,300 years. These bearings carry total 205 tonnes and are an excellent example of efficiency and long life of the hydrostatic bearing.