Recently, scientists from Institute of Optics and Electronics (IOE) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences developed a nanometer Dense Ball Bearing Shafting (DBBS) system. It could be used on many platforms for ultra-precision manufacturing. 

The high precision shafting system is a key functional unit for many precision mechanical equipment, especially for roundness instrument, theodolite, goniometer, etc.  

As a typical structure in ultra-precision machinery, DBBS slewing platform is a good choice for microlithography and precision metrology to realize ultra-precise location, inspection and precise movement.  

In precision and ultra-precision manufacturing era, the accuracy of machining equipment and testing equipment will promote to sub-micro/nano-scale, with the increasing requirements for rotation accuracy of their shafting system. However, to promote the accuracy of DBBS to nano-scale, we need to solve many problems in this system, such as precision adjustment, lubrication and so on.  

In Oct 2018, scientists from IOE developed a DBBS system that can solve the problems affecting the accuracy of the shafting system.  

The DBBS system can limit the radial runout and axial runout accuracy within 0.09μm, and make the roundness of the inner hole of the components within 0.08μm. 

There are many potential applications for this new nanometer DBBS system. It can be applied to high-precision testing equipment to further improve the detection accuracy and measurement uncertainty, and applied to aerospace area to provide precision transmission, and used in the field of microlithography to realize ultra-precision rotation, location and transmission.  

Also, with the advantages of practical significance and application value, the system can be applied to other high precision experimental platform to provide ultra-precise location, inspection and precise movement. 

Figure 1. The DBBS slewing platform. (Image by SI Bu)