Noise Control in Machines

What Products Can Be Used for Noise Control in Machines?

Noise is probably one of the most frustrating by-products of the technological era. Any time you have moving parts rubbing against one another, you’re going to have noise to some degree because friction always causes vibration. This means that since men have started creating machines with moving parts, they’ve been thinking of ways to create noise control. There are all sorts of materials that are used for controlling noise in today’s machines. Here are just a few of them.

One of the most basic ways to control noise is to get rid of as much friction as possible. You can do this between parts that need to slide past one another by oiling them or adding ball bearings. This cuts down on friction, vibration, and noise. However, sometimes friction is vital to a machine’s running well, so you have to find other ways to control noises that the various machine parts might be making.

One option when you need to block a lot of noise is to just put up walls to block it. High density materials like bricks and concrete don’t let noise vibrations through, so they work well for this. These types of items can’t be used within the machine, obviously, but they can keep the noises of a large machine from reaching beyond a certain point.

Some materials that can be used inside machines or near them on some level actually absorb sound. These materials, such as fiberglass and foam, actually absorb sound vibrations, letting fewer vibrations get through to make noise in listening ears.

Another option is to damp the noise. Basically, damping absorbs some of the energy of sound vibrations and passes it out as heat. The damper still lets sound through, but it’s of a different frequency than what it would otherwise have been. This type of solution is often found with steel plates that are used to keep a large surface area from vibrating too much. When a sound is damped, it often becomes less annoying, and its sound waves can be less destructive to the rest of the machine.

Finally, there are substances that isolate a source of vibration and help it to make less noise. Such materials include springs and rubber. These materials can be used right up next to the part of the machine that’s making the noise in order to stop it from reaching outside that area of the machine.

Noise control in machines is a tricky subject. You have to pick just the right material to properly take care of the problem, and you have to use that material in just the right way. Modern advances have made noise control easier with new substances for this purpose. One such substance is Sorbothane, which has the properties of both a damper and an isolator. It can absorb some noise energy, but it can also convert energy into another form. Because of this, it’s one of the most effective substances around when it comes to noise control in machines.

Interested in learning more about Sorbothane’s solutions? Download our Standard Products Guide today.