A Good Vibration Damping Material for Fork Lifts

Look at fork lift related vibration issues.

• • Fork lift vibration can originate from multiple sources including: the operation of the motor, operation of the lift mechanism, repetitive contact of metal parts on metal parts, and movement across uneven or textured surfaces.

• • Vibration energy can be transmitted to the operator at the feet, seat, or hands. This can lead to discomfort, pain, maladies associated with the hands and wrists, or medical problems connected with exposure to whole-body vibration. Issues may include: Vibration White Finger, compromised circulation in the lower extremities, spine related nerve and orthopedic problems.

• • Addressing these vibration-related issues requires a good vibration damping material for fork lifts. Sorbothane® is that material—the best vibration energy damper on the market.

Explore the need for Vibration Damping

• • The oscillating energy of vibration consists of cyclically recurring forces of specific frequencies (the number of cycles or repetitive impacts within a given unit of time) and amplitude (individual force impact strength). When an object or person—such as a fork lift or operator—is impacted by this energy, it is transferred at the impact point. This causes the manifestation of vibration—the familiar back-and-forth or up-and-down motion.

• • To achieve the safest most comfortable working environment for your work lift operators, you must control a vibration’s amplitude as well as its frequency. This is achieved by utilizing a good vibration damping material for fork lifts—Sorbothane.

• • Higher amplitude vibration causes more forceful more damaging impacts. Potential consequences include: damage to the fork lift, injury to the operator, and damage or destruction to transported items. Sorbothane will efficiently absorb the vibration energy and release it in the form of harmless heat.

• • You must also control vibration wave frequency. Frequencies associated with different wavelengths will affect substances—forklift components, operators, and transported products—in different ways. Each of these substances possesses a natural—also known as a resonance—frequency. In the situation where the resonance frequency of the fork lift/components/operator coincides with the frequency of the vibration source, the substance begins to resonate. During resonance, vibration waves build on top of one another—bringing about a vibration energy wave of continuously increasing amplitude. Thus, lower amplitude vibration will increase in strength by feeding on the lower level of energy being supplied. These damaging resonance frequencies can be controlled by Sorbothane—a good vibration damping material for fork lifts.

What is Sorbothane and how does it function as avibration damper?

• • Displaying solid and liquid properties, polymeric Sorbothane is a viscoelastic substance.

• • This unique substance will flow as a liquid when impacted by a vibration energy source.

• • Displaying superior memory, Sorbothane will reconfigure to its original shape when the vibration source is removed—such as an elastic solid.

• • Sorbothane, demonstrating its superior damping coefficient, efficiently absorbs vibration energy and safely releases it—as heat energy—outward from the vibration impact source.

Effective vibration damping can be achieved with the utilization of unique Sorbothane products. These include: Grommets, Threaded Mounts, Bushings, Mounting Hemispheres, Washers, Stops, Bumpers, and Sorbothane Strips and Sheet Stock. Sorbothane’s capability of being able to be cast in any shape, thickness, or size, makes it the ideal damper to incorporate into your forklift.

Contact us.

Contact Sorbothane and our highly experienced engineers will assist with your unique application.