Lubrication is fundamental to the operation of all engineering machines. It is required to minimise friction, wear and also provides a cooling function and a surface protection function.

Gas lubricated bearings have numerous advantanges over liquid and solid lubricated bearings for a wide range of applications.   A gas bearing is virtually frictionless, silent, and vibrationfree.   Gas bearings can be used for extremely large surface velocities.   A gas bearing can eliminate the risk of contaminating a process with lubricant.

A gas / air bearing can be hydrodynamic or hydrostatic.  In hydrodynamic bearings the gas is introduced into the bearing surfaces by the action of the bearing.  In hydrostatic bearing the gas is introduced under pressure from an external source.

Air bearings are also widely used to allow frictionless movement of large heavy items over flat surfaces using air pads.