Mechanized adhesive applying for porous aerostatic bearings

Aerostatic bearings based on porous restrictors commonly consist of two components: the bearing body and the restrictor. The bearing body is usually steel or aluminium, and the restrictor is often graphite or some other porous material. The porous restrictor and the body are bonded together with adhesive. Aerostatic bearings are commonly utilized in precision engineering applications
which require narrow manufacturing tolerances and a highly repeatable manufacturing process. The adhesive application in the assembly process of aerostatic bearings is vulnerable to variations, as the adhesive bonding process is sometimes carried out by hand.
Thus, variances in the operation have effect on the final product’s quality. This study presents a system for mechanized adhesive application for manufacturing of aerostatic bearings. The presented system was developed for mechanized adhesive application using a standard 50 ml handheld, two-component epoxy cartridge. A six-axis robotic arm was utilized to dispense and direct the bead of
epoxy in a specified pattern, and a statistical inspection of this method’s repeatability is performed. The study investigates the repeatability of this type of automated adhesive application, aiming to minimize the risk of poorly bonded restrictors in future studies.