Why does the air supply for coordinate measuring machines need treatment?

Coordinate measuring machines generally adopt air bearings and thus require compressed air. The quality of compressed air directly affects the normal operation and service life of a CMM, so air source treatment is particularly important. In general, impurities in the air supply of a coordinate measuring machine mainly come from three sources: impurities sucked in from outside the system via the air compressor, impurities generated inside the system, and impurities produced during system installation and maintenance.

1. The compressed air output from the air compressor contains a large amount of impurities such as moisture, oil and dust. These impurities must be properly removed to prevent damage to the normal operation of the pneumatic system.

2. Deteriorated oil increases in viscosity and turns from liquid into solid sludge, which will block the air holes of the air floating blocks and cause inflexible movement of moving parts inside pneumatic components. Moisture corrodes metal parts. Condensed water trapped in pipelines leads to insufficient flow and increased pressure loss. Iron scraps and dust wear moving parts and result in poor component operation; dust accelerates damage to seals and causes air leakage.

3. Poor air quality is also a major factor for pneumatic system failures, greatly reducing the reliability and service life of the pneumatic system. Therefore, coordinate measuring machines are generally equipped with air source treatment assemblies to purify compressed air.