A linear guide includes an elongate guide body and a bearing cage, on the inner sides of which fluid pressure bearings are provided. The bearing cage moves along the guide body via the bearings. The bearing cage includes at least three interconnected plates. The plates each have an inner surface facing the guide body, an outer surface facing away from the guide body and side surfaces between the inner and the outer surface. Each plate is connected to a first other plate in a first end region and connected to a second other plate in an opposite second end region. For each of the plates: the first other plate, with its inner surface, abuts against a side surface of the considered plate, while the considered plate, with its inner surface, abuts against a side surface of the second other plate in the second end region of the considered plate.

A support system of a slender article in a geometry-detecting machine includes a plurality of vertical constraint points (1) with which the slender article is in contact, wherein the vertical constraint points (1) are coupled in pairs by interconnection arms (4) in turn including a constraint joint (3, 5) provided with a universal joint mechanism which leaves, to the arms (4), two rotational degrees of freedom (32, 34) along two orthogonal axes passing in the proximity of the longitudinal axis of the article, the constraint joints (3, 5) possibly being themselves similarly coupled in pairs until converging, in a multiple-layer sequence, towards a single constraint point.

A positioning system for positioning an object includes a stacked stage system movable on a reference surface. The stacked stage system includes a driving system for driving the stacked stage system; a first stage driven along a driving plane parallel to the plane of the reference surface; and a main stage for supporting the object, the main stage arranged on the driven first stage for moving the main stage along the driving plane. The main stage includes a rotary drive system for rotating the main stage with respect to the first stage around an axis parallel to an out-of-plane direction perpendicular to the driving plane. The main stage is movable with respect to the first stage in the out-of-plane direction and further includes a support bearing to movably support the main stage on the reference surface in said out-of-plane direction.

A measurement system and a method of measuring an object is provided. The system includes a measurement platform having a planar surface. At least two optical sensors are coupled to the measurement platform that emit light in a plane and determines a distance to an object based on a reflection of the light. A linear rail is coupled to the measurement platform. A cooperative robot is coupled to move along the linear rail. A 3D measuring system is coupled to the end of the robot. A controller coupled to the at least two optical sensors, the robot, and the 3D measuring system, the controller changing the speed of the robot and the 3D measuring system to less than a threshold in response to a distance measured by at least one of the at least two optical sensors to a human operator being less than a first distance threshold.

A coordinate measuring machine (CMM) having a belt drive unit for an elongated axis element of the CMM, the belt drive unit comprising a belt, the ends of which are clamped on the elongated axis element, a pulley unit, comprising a drive pulley and two idler pulleys, wherein the belt entangles the drive pulley and the idle pulleys in an omega-shaped manner, and wherein the pulley unit is configured to cause a relative linear movement between the axis element and the pulley unit, wherein a damping layer is disposed adjacent to the belt.

A measuring system (15) includes a measuring arm receiving unit (18) mounted on the housing (49) or on an axial pin (30) connected to the housing (49) for conjoint rotation so as to be rotatable or pivotable about the axis of rotation (D). A measuring arm (16) can be arranged on the measuring arm receiving unit (18). A motor unit (24) generates a motor torque about the axis of rotation (D) on the measuring arm receiving unit (18). The measuring arm unit (18) is mounted by a ball bearing guide unit (39) to be rotatable about the axis of rotation (D) in the peripheral direction and displaceably along the axis of rotation (D) in the axial direction A. An axial position of the measuring arm unit (18) in the axial direction is defined with the aid of a magnetic axial bearing device (46) and is maintained during operation.

A method for measuring a measurement object (1), in particular for determining the position and/or distance of a measurement object (1), for example for measuring the width and/or for measuring the flatness of a measurement object (1), using a measuring system (2) movable along a linear axis (7), wherein the measuring system (2) has at least one sensor (4) and wherein means (9) are arranged to detect a position of a reference point (8) of the measuring system (2), wherein at least one measured value of the measurement object (1) is detected using the sensor (4) and wherein a measurement error of the measured value caused by an inclination of the linear axis (7) by an angle of inclination ? is determined and wherein the measured value is corrected by the measurement error.

The present invention provides a measurement method including while driving a measurement target region of a surface of a substrate in a first direction with respect to a measurement unit, obtaining first measurement information indicating a height of the measurement target region in each of a plurality of first measurement lines parallel to the first direction and different from each other by measuring each measurement line by the measurement unit, and while driving the measurement target region with respect to the measurement unit in a second direction crossing all of the plurality of first measurement lines, obtaining second measurement information indicating a height of the measurement target region in one second measurement line parallel to the second direction by measuring the second measurement line by the measurement unit.

The air bearing includes a main body part having a bearing surface opposed to a guide face, first and second flow path parts, which are provided in the main body part, for allowing compressed air supplied from outside to flow, an air supply hole, which is provided in the flow path part, for supplying compressed air to the guide face to form an air film between the bearing surface and the guide face, and a negative pressure generating part, which is provided in the second flow path part intersecting with the first flow path part, for generating a negative pressure for sucking air between the guide face and the main body part by increasing the flow velocity of the compressed air.

A translation movement device includes a guide, a long slider guided by the guide, and a belt driver displacing the slider; and the belt driver includes an open belt arranged parallel to the slider, a drive pulley for the open belt, and a tension bar arranged parallel to the open belt; and the tension bar is connected to the long slider at a middle position between two belt holders that hold respective end portions of the open belt.