Design, development and evaluation of a precision air bearing rotary table with large diameter through-hole.

摘要

A large diameter precision air bearing rotary table with a 16.0 inch diameter through-hole was designed, fabricated and tested in the course of this research. The rotary table will be used in conjunction with a specialized, computer controlled precision inspection machine being designed for the Department of Energy's (DOE) Nuclear Weapons Complex (NWC). The design process included a complete engineering analysis to predict the final performance of the rotary table, and to ensure that the rotary table meets the required accuracy of 4.0 microinches of total radial (3.5 microinches average radial) and 4.0 microinches total axial (3.5 microinches average axial) errors. The engineering analysis included structural deformation, thermal sensitivity and dynamic analyses using finite element methods in some cases, as well as other analytic solutions. Comparisons are made between predicted and tested values, which are listed in the rotary table error budget. The rotary table performed as predicted with measured axial and radial stiffnesses of 1.1E06 lbf/inch and 2.9E06 lbf/inch, respectively, as well as average radial, axial and tilt errors of 2.5 microinches, 1.5 microinches, and less than 0.05 arcseconds, respectively.