: Risse, S.; Kalkowski, G.; Harnisch, G.; Gebhardt, A.

Abstract
With attention to the increasing demands on precision engineering and microsystem technologies it is necessary to optimize bearings through a wise choice of technologies and materials for highly specialized applications. The use of inorganic non-metallic materials combined with infusion of other technologies can open up new possibilities in bearing technology. The possibility of using glass and glassceramics as bearing materials for aerostatic and aerodynamic air bearings can bring successful results. Manufacturing and assembly process borrowed from optics, as an alternative to traditional ultra-high precision machining process, are applicable in the production of spherical and double spherical precision bearings and are applicable in the production of spherical precision bearings and open up new possibilities for the manufacture of precision bearings. A miniaturization of the component assembly of aerodynamic and hybrid air bearings is an additional direction.