About PI Nelson Air

Precision air bearing design, manufacturing, integration, testing, and production for demanding motion-control applications.

About PI Nelson Air

Nelson Air Corporation was founded in 1984 and acquired by PI (Physik Instrumente) LP in 2014. It is now part of the PI Group's Air Bearing Division specializing in the design and manufacturing of high quality, high precision air bearings and motion systems for a variety of industries including semiconductor, test and gauging equipment, optical manufacturing and testing, imaging and printing, biomedical, and automotive. The company has also supplied bearings to many research agencies and universities.

PI Nelson Air custom air bearing componentCustom Air Bearing Components

Facilities

PI Nelson Air facilities are located in Nashua, NH. The company has a full machine shop, including CNC equipment for higher volume products. In addition, PI Nelson Air has a variety of grinders and in-house developed equipment which allows the company to meet the stringent tolerances required for our parts. Our in-house inspection capabilities allow us to verify that the products we build meet specifications every time.

Core Capabilities

  • Precision air bearing design
  • CNC machining
  • Precision grinding and assembly
  • In-house inspection and testing
  • Custom and OEM production

Typical Industries

  • Semiconductor
  • Optical manufacturing and testing
  • Test and gauging equipment
  • Imaging and printing
  • Biomedical and automotive

History

Nelson Air was founded by Mr. Nelson, who was one of the founding members of Dover Instrument Corporation, in 1984. Nelson Air is now part of PI USA with its headquarters in Shrewsbury MA. The PI group employees more than 1900 people worldwide. PI offers the broadest and deepest portfolio of precision motion technologies. With the 2014 acquisition of Nelson Air, PI is building on hundreds of man-years of in-house air bearing experience.

Key Personnel

Bradley B. Engel, Engineering Director, Air Bearing Products

A graduate of Cornell University with a B.S. and M.Eng., Mr. Engel has extensive experience in the design, analysis and control of precision systems and mechanisms. In his previous employment at OPTRA Inc, a developer of sub-nanometer resolution optical metrology products, he worked on a number of sub-micron and sub-nanometer positioning systems. He has experience with linear motors, stepper motors, servo motors, voice coil motors, piezos, optical encoders, precision leadscrews, air bearings, crossroller bearings, and flexures. He is also skilled in software development for data acquisition and control, including C, Visual C++, Visual Basic, and LabView.

John Michaud, Plant Manager

With more than 2 decaces experience with ultra-precision equipment and manufacturing Mr. Michaud is responsible for precision grinding, inspection, assembly and testing of our products.

Need help with an air bearing design or integrated motion system? Contact PI Nelson Air to discuss your application.