Fundamental frequency

Vibration is often a requirement for certain actions to occur. For instance, when you are creating sounds of any kind, the vibration is important for the sound to be made and for it to be heard. The way we hear the sound depends on the way that it travels from its origination spot and to the ear. Vibration is also responsible for sounds that we do not want to hear as well, however. In some machines, excessive vibrations are usually the start of minor damage that can cause additional sounds from the motor. These sounds are usually the first signals that something catastrophic is about to happen. There are mechanics who can diagnose the problem with some machines just by the sound they are hearing when it is in motion.

Because fundamental frequency and vibration might be used interchangeably when discussing certain types of applications or components, it is important to know the path of normal movement exactly as well as the normal speed and energy output before trying to make any of the adjustments.

Controlling some of the vibration can sometimes be as simple as tightening a screw or bolt just a little bit, but that is not always the right answer. Some components are designed to move a little more freely, meaning that tightening the screw or bolt can cause even more damage or may prevent the component from moving correctly. If you cannot tighten the bolt to prevent the excess damage, designers often look for other ways of minimizing the damage that can occur.

For some components, changing the material they are made from can be enough, while for others it might be a change in the shape, the size or the way they are installed. When all of these fail, there is another option, which is to include Sorbothane into the design. Sorbothane is a special material, not quite a solid and not quite an elastic liquid but with properties of both types of material. It can be adjusted for any type of thickness and is useful for a number of different situations. It is often used in very complex motors where vibration control is crucial and is also used for more simplistic designs as well.

Sorbothane is frequently used in motors and other parts of machines, from huge helicopters to smaller, more delicate applications because it is adaptable, flexible and able to handle the shock of frequent vibration.

For A Limited Time – Enter The Discount Code FORTHECURE
And Receive 20% OFF Any RX Sorbo Performance Insole Purchase

After selecting the RX Sorbo Performance Insole that best fits your needs just enter the promo code FORTHECURE at check out, and receive a 20% discount. This discount is for a limited time and applies to every RX Sorbo Performance Insole.

In addition $2.00 from the sale of every RX Sorbo Performance Insole including the “Limited Edition” Pink insole, sold through March 2012, will go directly to support the Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure.

Go to – www.rxsorbo.com and enter the promo code FORTHECURE at check out for 20% OFF.

Cleveland, OH – Rain couldn’t dampen the spirits of the participants at the 18^th Annual Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure. Held September 10, 2011 at the Wolstein Center on the campus of Cleveland State University – over 20,000 women, men and children of all ages and athletic abilities were expected to participate. Many RX Sorbo/Sorbothane employees, friends and family members ran or walked in the event. Susan G. Komen For The Cure® continues to be the global leader in the fight against breast cancer.

The RX Sorbo Performance Insole booth was extremely well attended with many visitors interested in the RX Sorbo “Limited Edition” Pink Comfort Insole. $2.00 from the sale of every RX Sorbo Performance Insole including the “Limited Edition” Pink insole, sold through March 2012, goes directly to support the Susan G. Komen Northeast Ohio Race for the Cure.

Along with providing event support and product information RX Sorbo conducted an extremely successful prize raffle. Congratulations to all the winners…and a special thank you to everyone who participated in this special event.

Grand Prize Winner of an Apple iPad2:

John Cartwright of North Olmsted

Second Prize Winner of a $100 Gift Certificate to Achilles Running Shop

Janice Holt of Cleveland

RX Sorbo Performance Insole Winners

Teresa Sopko of Ravenna
Diana Prehn of Reminderville
Sandy Richardson of Strongsville
Jan Ferritto of Parma
Steve Freeman of South Euclid

Thanks to everyone that stopped by the RX Sorbo booth…see you next year.

The more movement between working parts, the more heat and friction can be built up. Metal tends to absorb energy from a load it is bearing and then expands under the pressure. When the load is removed from its surface, the metal will return to its normal position. Eventually though, the load will expand the metal beyond its normal capacity, which means that it will not be as able to return to its original condition any longer. This might result in small pits along the surface of the metal, which can weaken it, or in larger fractures that will eventually lead to a complete break.

In humans, fatigue failure happens during certain types of motion- whether it is caused by distance, speed or a combination. Pounding feet on the pavement causes an impact of solid (foot or shoe) to solid (ground), which is typically felt as vibration from the sole of the feet and up the body. This impact will eventually cause the legs and feet to become exhausted and the runner/walker will have to stop. In other words, they have reached their point of fatigue failure. Like other materials, the human body can take only so much of these impacts without damage. Eventually, small tears or other injuries will build up and may eventually lead to a complete failure for the body in question. Reducing fatigue caused by impact and vibration is key to preventing some of these injuries.

Designers for both machines and athletic shoes as well as for other items have long looked for ways to absorb some of the generated energy and to safely dissipate it before it causes fatigue failure. Absorbing some of the most serious impact and vibrations might be the key to accomplishing this and may be the way to increase the useful life of certain machines as well as to allow a human body to exercise for a longer period of time, to cover greater distances or to strive for faster speeds without worry of increasing the risk of serious injuries.

Sorbothane is frequently used for a number of these applications; it is used in machines to reduce the vibrations that can cause components to break and the machine to fail. It is also frequently used in athletic or other types of footwear so that humans can move as they are meant to without the accumulating stress causing them to tire as quickly as they normally would. Because it is light and flexible, it can be used to create a comfortable insole for shoes of all types that does not change their fit at all but can allow for greater performance.

Every type of material performs in expected ways under different types of situations. That is one of the ways that experts choose the types of materials that will be used to build a machine, a building or anything else.

Fatigue is one of the keys to predicting how long an item can be expected to be useful. For instance, will fatigue cause failure in a certain metal or other type of material faster in certain temperatures or will additional weight or shape change how long the item will last? These are all things that are considered during the design process. And the answers are never just guessed at numbers or hoped for results. Instead, the designer uses fatigue analysis to determine how long an item will possibly last. In the past, the analysis was done by using difficult to understand, tedious formulas.

In the modern era, fatigue analysis is done by using computers and specially designed software. While it may take some of the work out of the process, it does not change its importance at all. You still have to consider how long the material will last and how effective it will remain for that life cycle.

Fatigue analysis is important because it can be used to adjust a design and make adjustments based on stress or on other factors that can directly impact how long a product might actually last. For instance, if you know that you are building an item with a wide expanse of fairly thin, but durable metal, you might consider adding another equally thin material to the metal to reduce some of the damage that can be caused by vibration or movement. The material might also be used to reduce some of the expansion that is allowed to happen to the metal.

Expansion is a normal occurrence that happens when pressure or stress load is applied to metal. When the stress is removed, the material should remove to its normal, unstressed state. Eventually though, the stress of expansion and contractions can cause cracks or breaks to occur in the material which may reduce its overall strength.

Because Sorbothane is used to reduce some of the stress in certain types of materials, it can increase some of not only the stress but the usability of a material or application. If you know that a lifecycle might be only two years, because of fatigue analysis done in the past, you can investigate the addition of Sorbothane which might increase the life cycle and usefulness of the application.

Flexible and durable, Sorbothane is a material that is frequently selected because it is readily adaptable for a number of different applications.

A fatigue test is done in several ways and may depend on the exact nature of the material or the machine involved. In most cases, the item is repeatedly exposed to the same type of motions that it would be exposed to while in regular use in a cycle until the item finally fails. If the item is used in an up and down motion, for instance, then it would be moved in an up and down motion until it failed. The more separate pieces and components to a machine, the longer the fatigue testing may take as each piece may have a different level of fatigue wear that it can handle before damage occurs.

After learning the results of the fatigue test, the next step is to determine how to lengthen the effective life of each component. In some machines, there are going to be some components that are never going to last as long as others. That being said, you can extend the life of the machine substantially by lengthening the fatigue life of the shortest lived component. While you still may not be able to make all of the components last the same length of time, you can still make things last much longer than they normally would. To do so, you have to understand what causes fatigue in the first place.

Fatigue is often caused by vibration, which makes each component move and may cause them to bang into one another which may cause damages to occur. Damage may be minor at first, but as it continues to occur, it will build up and will eventually lead to total failure.

In some cases, there are ways to reduce this potential damage, including using certain materials to buffer the vibration and other movement. Sorbothane, a unique material is often the material of choice because it is flexible, able to be molded into the shape that is needed. It also provides a number of additional properties to the material it is used to protect. Reduction of fatigue can increase usable life of materials, sometimes as much as twice as long as they would normally be expected to last.

Sorbothane, a viscous elastic polymer, is used to absorb and displace load creating stress in the material, often converted the diverted energy into heat which can then be eliminated via exhausts or vents. It is also material used to prevent fatigue in people as well, typically used for insoles in shoes meant for people who are spending a lot of time on their feet such as factory workers or long distance runners.

There are a number of factors that can influence how many cycles that a metal can be used in without succumbing to fatigue including the process that was used to create the item, how much stress is applied to the material, the temperature that it is exposed to and the presence of other substances.

The type of design or the shape of the metal might also influence the material’s useful life. Certain shapes may increase the amount of stress by increasing the bends or joins of a structure.

A metal that has to endure a higher level of applied stresses may have a shorter life cycle than one that has far less applied stress. Using a material to displace some of the stress or to absorb any of the other properties that might cause metal fatigue is one of the best ways to extend the life cycle of the application plus all of the components and parts.

When an athlete discusses fatigue, he means the compaction of his joints which leaves to a heavy feeling of his legs and feet and may increase the risk of injuries that may or may not be permanent. But, an athlete can rest himself and eventually heal (unless it is permanent), coming back to enjoy his sport once again.

Metal is not the same as flesh and bone though and metal fatigue is cumulative in nature meaning that once a small imperfection starts, it will increase until eventual failure.

Sorbothane is a specialized material which is used in a number of different applications, including metal insulation. Because it absorbs vibrations and slippage, it can prevent some of the damages that might occur to the metal parts. That will increase the time between first use and end of life cycle for the collective metal parts.

There are some applications that might benefit more from the use of Sorbothane, while others may need to have some minor adjustments before being applied. Because it displaces energy in the form of heat, some of the design of the machine or other application will have to be considered. Delicate materials might be further damaged by the slightly increased heat.

Before introducing Sorbothane to your application, you should consider whether it will change the shape, texture or width of moving parts and whether those changes will prevent the right type of movements from occurring.

In most cases, fatigue life is calculated as the number of stress cycles that an object or material can handle before the failure. There are several different types of stress values that are considered when computing fatigue life, including the nominal maximum stress value, which is usually less than ultimate tensile stress limits. There is another value, the yield stress limit, which may be higher than ultimate tensile stress limits.

When a material is put into use, the design can increase the stress that is put on the object. For instance, certain sharper angles, such as the corners in a square object, can be a significantly higher stress area than a rounded area, which disperses the weight and stress of a load more evenly over a larger area.

The beginnings of fatigue may not be immediately noticeable, with microscopic cracks and pinpoint holes forming along the site of the highest level of stress. Eventually, though, the crack will widen or elongate to a point where it is not only noticeable but is obvious. Once one of these imperfections starts, it is usually not much longer before the object totally fails, and there are certain materials and items that are pulled out of use at the first, notable sign of fatigue related damage because they can be dangerous once they are under stress.

An example of this damage can be seen in metal parts that look bent or warped but may not be noticeable until the part snaps in half. Helicopter blades, which were previously created from pure metal, are subject to a number of stress factors including wind shear and temperature changes, which can increase the number of small cracks and fissures along their length. Because altitude changes can also increase the amount of stress, it is important that these be inspected, especially once they get to one half the normal fatigue life calculated for that material. Helicopter blades are currently being made out of other materials that are meant to accept the stress load with more give to increase its fatigue life.

Some materials, especially very thin or very rigid materials, are more prone to stress damage than others. On the other hand, there are materials that are meant to absorb and displace the stress in the object better than others. Sorbothane is used in certain types of objects because it absorbs the stress and displaces a load better than other types of materials. Because it has a blend of viscous and elastic properties, it employs the best and makes the object last longer. Sorbothane can also be used to lighten the overall weight of the object it is being built into.

Shear modulus refers to shearing strains, which occur when two surfaces rub against one another, in other words, when they shear over each other. That motion can cause serious damage to the material eventually, depending on a number of different factors. Weight limit and type of material can be two of the biggest determining factors and should be considered when choosing a design and a material for any application.

Another way to define the concept of shear modulus is by the use of the word “friction”. The best example might be to consider a pair of sneakers that are either too tight or too stiff. They run up and down on the back of the heel, eventually leading to a shearing injury, which on skin is seen as a blister. The extent of the sheering and therefore the blistering may depend on how long the shoes are worn, the type of motion and some other relative factors. For instance, a person who is running on a hot, summer day may see a lot more friction damage than a person who is just walking on a spring day.

Shearing or friction damages can be very serious in some cases, because while the skin on a human’s foot will grow back, the same damage in a machine or other object will not. To prevent this type of damage, it is important to reduce the amount of friction between the two surfaces, particularly when they are touching one another during the entire operation period. For some types of materials, oil or another type of lubricant is used to reduce the strain or shearing as the two surfaces pass one another. The problems with these lubricants include the mess and having to be replaced frequently.

Sorbothane is a visco-elastic type of material that is used in a number of different applications. In addition to excellent vibration reduction, it can also be used to prevent or reduce damages caused by shearing. Because it can be cut to fit, there are very few limitations to the uses and applications. The right thickness of Sorbothane is important because it can impede the performance of the object if it is too thick. If it is too thin, then it will provide no real protection at all.

Every part in a machine plays a specific role. Each part works together toward the function of the machine. For instance, in a washing machine, every part will spin or move in the act of getting the clothing clean and wrung out. But those parts can work against each other and defeat the overall purpose when there is too much vibration generated by the parts. The energy that is being generated to provide the required action is dissipated along those individual parts so the machine has to work harder and longer to perform its job. Eventually, that will wear the parts out and cause them to be weaker and more likely to break. Once one part ceases to work correctly, most machines are broken.

To reduce the amount of energy that is dissipated along the parts inside of the machine, there has to be a way to lower the amount of vibration that is created. The machine’s energy is then transferred to the individual parts without the dissonance and loss of power. The machine not only works more efficiently but continues to work for an extended period. The less time that you have to spend dealing with breakdowns and repairs, the better off you will be.

Sorbothane is a material that is frequently used in mechanical applications to reduce the amount of vibrations and energy dissipation. There are other materials that are used in certain situations, including oils or lubricants in smaller applications and gaskets or seals in larger. These are all meant to reduce the noise and vibration of each part of the machine. However, in each situation, these applications might have some limitations and drawbacks. For instance, oil can break down at excessive temperatures and may hasten breakdown of parts. Gaskets can break apart and may even be the cause of breakdown.

Thankfully, with the use of this material, some of the metal parts are eliminated. The more metal that is used in a machine, the more likely there is to be breakdown. Metal springs, typically used to capture and then release energy, eventually wear out and stop being as effective at the return of the energy. Metal springs can also break or come loose, causing extensive damage to any other part that they come in contact with.

Sorbothane, with the properties of both a viscous material and an elastic property can be adapted for use in a wide variety of applications regardless of the temperatures that are created by the working parts or the condition that the machine is used under.