There is provided a spindle device utilizing an externally pressurized gas
bearing assembly, in which the center of a pulse disc of a rotary encoder
can be adjusted to minimize an unbalance of the weight of the pulse disc
and such unbalance can be adjusted easily to minimize fluctuation of the
pulse disc during rotation and to achieve a highly precise detection of
the rotational position consistent with the resolution of the rotary
encoder. The spindle device includes an externally pressurized gas
bearing assembly (3) for rotatably supporting a shaft (1), a motor (10)
for driving the shaft (1), and a rotary encoder (19) for detecting a
rotational position. A pulse disc (16) of the rotary encoder (19) is
fixed on a mounting surface (S), arranged in the vicinity of one end of
the shaft (1) and lying perpendicular to a central axis of the shaft (1),
by a fastening member (17) such as a bolt removably inserted through a
fastening member inserting portion (7) provided in the pulse disc (16).
The mounting surface (S) is an end face of a mounting base (12) fixed to
that end of the shaft (1). This mounting base (12) is fixed to the shaft
(1) by means of a plurality of radially extending set screws (13).