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Interview with Kaan Erturk, Business Development at OAV Air Bearings.
Easy Engineering: A brief description of a project / projects.
Kaan Erturk: Justin Jorge, a PHD student at Duke University, was given a task of measuring the energy released from mandibles of a trap-jaw ant, which uses its jaw to release down and jump great distances. After a series of design and testing, the laboratory concluded that the current methods of analysis were severely flawed.
E.E: What were the needs of the client? Why did the client choose your products / solutions?
K.E: Knowing that the current system was incapable of accurately measuring the size and scale of the trap-jaw strike, Jorge set out to create a pendulum based measurement system. Due to the size, speed, and acceleration of the trap-jaw ant, the design and experimentation stage of the project were rather difficult. Using standard methods like the conventional bearing requires sacrificing accuracy of data due to the presence of friction and inertia. Jorge needed a system with little to no friction- air bearings.
E.E: What products / solutions were used?
K.E: Working with OAV Air Bearing engineers on a series of design and application ideas, Jorge and the team concluded that the OAV Roller Air Bearing would be ideal for a system like his.
E.E: Please describe how the project was implemented?
K.E: The project involved replacing traditional bearings with OAV Air Roller Bearings in the pendulum-based measurement system. This required design modifications and testing to ensure compatibility and accuracy.
E.E: How did your products / solutions improve productivity for the client?
K.E: Ultimately, the reason why the Roller Air Bearing was so successful in the system was due to increased accuracy and frictionless ability of the bearing compared to its conventional counterparts. Accuracy that reaches the level of microns in these bearings was a perfect pair when measuring insects as small as these ants.
E.E: What was the client feedback after implementation?
K.E: Replacing traditional bearings with Roller Air Bearings allowed Jorge to create a working system that brings quality and accurate data. The conclusions were clear: the problem of friction was significantly reducing the effectiveness of the original system (especially at a scale of micro-joules), as well as requiring more maintenance and difficulty of installation. OAV engineers believe that the use of Roller Bearings significantly reduces the cost of the system overtime, due to more reliability, less maintenance and down time, even though the initial cost is greater than a traditional bearing.
E.E: What are your forecasts for the second half of 2024?
K.E: OAV takes great pride in their products and the help it brings to furthering research and our understanding of the world, and has always been eager in spreading the knowledge of Air Bearing technology and the benefits it provides. OAV anticipates continued growth and innovation in providing solutions for various research applications, leveraging their air bearing technology to meet evolving client needs and further expand their market presence.
References
Jorge, J. F., Bergbreiter, S. and Patek, S. N. (2021). Pendulum-based measurements reveal impact dynamics at the scale of a trap-jaw ant. J Exp Biol jeb.232157.
Air Bearings , O. (n.d.). “Outside the Box” – The Accurate Measurement of the Energy From a Trap-Jaw Ant’s Mandible Strike Through the use of OAV Air Bearings. oavco. https://www.oavco.com/trap-jaw-ant-case-study
This material is based on work supported by the U.S. Army Research Laboratory and the U.S. 592 Army Research Office under contract/grant number W911NF-15-1- 0358.
