The effects of space, especially long term missions have long been known. Astronauts returning from the International Space Station must endure a number of health setbacks even though most leave in top physical condition at the start of their mission. Most specifically, a condition called spaceflight osteopenia, or the loss of bone mass because of the lack of gravity is not only common but very serious.

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Often thought of as a problem only for industrial occupations that involve heavy machinery, the concept of whole body vibration is actually something that affects every single person, no matter what their line of work is. When you drive to and from your job, you are exposed to vibration in your vehicle. It is not the kind of vibration that is always the reason there are problems but the cumulative effect of the vibration that makes it a danger. The more vibration you are exposed to, the more likely you are to have some kind of damage or injury whether it is minor and short term or more disabling and long term.

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Hand held tools are meant to be used by a human operator, typically for long hours per day. The accumulated wear and tear on both the tool and the operator can be substantial, especially in terms of the vibration that is built up from the repeated and often very rapid action of the tool. In some cases, some of the vibration and its ill effects can be damped or mitigated through specific design features of the tool itself, but that is often not enough to protect the human user from discomfort from the use of the tool.

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In the world of protective gloves, especially when it comes to vibration control, all materials are not created equally. OSHA, the agency that determines what does and does not qualify as “protective wear,” warns that certain gloves, frequently labeled as “protective” by the manufacturer, do not meet its minimum standard for protection against excessive vibration and may not afford any type of protection for a condition known as “white finger syndrome”. Those gloves tend to be made of cotton, leather or a combination of the two and do not decrease vibration at all. In addition, there are a number of types of vibration damping gloves that are also deemed ineffective against this condition, which can range from mild to debilitating and may be either temporary or permanent in the case of long term exposure to excessive vibration.

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Big and heavy, noisy and often uncomfortable to sit in or on, industrial equipment is a necessary part of a lot of occupations. But those very machines that speed up processes that would take smaller machines months to accomplish can also take a very serious tole on the most important component; the human operator. While it is necessary to protect the internal workings of the machine from excessive vibration and the damage that it can cause, it is even more important to protect the human being that is controlling the machine.

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With sensitive electronics, excessive vibration can cause parts to wear out too quickly or may cause the component to be louder than it needs to be. It may cause the item to work far more slowly than it was designed to and may eventually cause the whole thing to stop working.
Certain parts of the machine or electronics can be protected with the use of an isolator like a vibration damper that will absorb some of the shock and redirect that impact so that it is not as much of a danger to internal parts and does not play such a role in how it works. An example of this is with the computer.

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Vibration is both necessary and a nuisance. In various applications we need vibration for parts to work correctly. Even sound is nothing more than vibration. But, if the vibration becomes excessive or does not follow the correct path, machines can break and the people who are using the machine can become fatigued. In all applications from personal comfort to delicate aerospace applications, vibration reduction is both a comfort and safety consideration. There are many applications that should be considered when choosing a vibration reduction system.

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Whether you are talking about consumer level or commercial products in the field of audio visual, there is a serious need for vibration control to achieve the best quality in either. Excessive vibration in either sound or video can cause serious problems. If you are working hard to create a professional looking movie or audio file, you do not want to let errant vibration take your efforts down to the level of the typical home movie. The more money you are spending on your project, the more that you want to have it come out looking or sounding like it was well worth it.

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A machine is typically made of at least two moving parts but in many cases can be made up of as many as hundreds of parts of varying sizes. Each of those parts has a role to play inside of the machine, moving in a certain way that makes the whole machine work. As the machine works, the parts might become old, dust can collect on their surfaces and fastenings can become looser.

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That precision medical lab equipment must be specifically calibrated cannot be denied. The level of precision that is required for these machines is typically at a level that is unheard of and hard to understand for the lay person. Every value that comes out of a lab must be certifiable as accurate or they will not be worthwhile. For instance, when a doctor sends a sample to the lab, he is testing for a disease or condition. If there is any chance of that condition, the lab equipment should be able to detect it. If the equipment is off by just a tiny bit, it may not detect the clues that are present in the sample that is being used. That may mean that the testing will need to be done again, different types of testing will need to be explored or the disease will go undetected until it is at a much more serious stage.

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