On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 17:00:39 GMT, spam@uce.gov (Bob) wrote:

>On Sat, 23 Jul 2005 14:46:00 GMT, kony <spam@spam.com> wrote:
>
>>Dells often had ball-bearing fans, which may get no quieter
>>(sometimes even louder) if lubed. These types of precision,
>>(somewhat) high-speed ball-bearings unfortunately depend on
>>a particular viscosity and volume of grease to perform
>>optimally, and as such lubing will not have nearly the same
>>benefit as a sleeve-bearing would.
>
>The Panaflow we have discussed before has "Hydro-Wave bearing
>technology".
>
>"Utilizing the new Hydro-Wave bearing technology, the Panaflo L1
>series produces stellar CFM (cubic feet per minute), while being some
>of the quietest fans on the market."
>
>I have seen references to "fluid bearings" before. I wonder how they
>work.

The Panaflos have what is essentially a well-designed sleeve
bearing. Some are even closed at the back and can't be
lubed, but regardless they are engineered well enough that
they don't need lubed every year or two like junk
sleeve-bearing fans. They're still sub-optimal for very
high temps though, are therefore not the ideal PSU exhaust
fan.