# S4E29 Drew Devitt | Porous Media Air Bearings

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2023-08-04
- Length: 54m
- Episode: 29
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings/

## Summary

Drew Devitt, founder and CTO of New Way Air Bearings, explains the physics and applications of porous media air bearings, which use millions of sub-micron orifices in materials like graphite or ceramic to create frictionless motion. He details how these bearings achieve high stiffness and damping in precision applications like coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) and semiconductor stages, often using vacuum preload to enhance performance. Devitt also discusses mounting options such as flexure mounts and bonded replication, the low air flow requirements, and emerging uses in flexible electronics and high-speed rotating equipment.

## Chapters

- [0:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=4) Introduction and Drew Devitt's Background
- [9:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=570) Physics of Porous Media Air Bearings
- [14:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=872) Stiffness, Damping, and Cleanroom Suitability
- [20:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=1249) Mounting Options: Flexures, O-Rings, and Bonding
- [34:11](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=2051) Friction Coefficients and Energy Savings
- [39:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=2375) Air Flow Requirements and Payload Capacity
- [44:24](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=2664) Lifespan, Maintenance, and Radial Bearings
- [49:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings#t=2960) Flexible Electronics and Future Applications

## Topics

- [Mechanical engineering](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/mechanical-engineering)
- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Design for manufacturing & NPI](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/design-for-manufacturing)

## Most relevant to

established companies

## Mentioned

- New Way Air Bearings (company)
- Moglix (material)
- Sterrett (company)
- Coordinate Measuring Machine (product)
- Oak Ridge National Laboratory (company)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2023-08-04-s4e29-drew-devitt-porous-media-air-bearings. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Being an Engineer.