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What Is Shock? To understand what types of materials are best for shock absorption, one must understand shock, why shock absorption is important, and how shock energy is absorbed. What is shock? Shock is the effect on an object caused by the energy delivered to it by a force, usually an impact force, over a short time period. […]

Consider These Questions about Damping Material To identify what material is best for damping, consider these questions: What Is Damping? Damping is the reduction or elimination of the amplitude of an electrical or mechanical energy’s wave. In most cases, damping converts electrical or mechanical energy into thermal energy. In layman’s terms, damping reduces or eliminates […]

Why Is a Material That Can Store Energy Important? Usually when we ask the question, “What material can store the most energy?” we’re attempting to find a material capable of absorbing energy. Energy absorption is important for applications in which the force transferred between two objects or between an object and an individual has the potential to damage […]

Why Is It Important to Reduce Vibrations? Vibration can cause problems and damage in many industrial applications—heavy machinery, vehicles, equipment, and tools. The repeated metal-to-metal contact in heavy machinery, for example, has the potential to damage parts and expose workers to unsafe conditions. The vibration created by vehicle engines, buckets or blades, or by travel […]

What Two Properties Does the Best Anti-Vibration Material Possess? According to the seminal article by J C Snowdon in a 1958 issue of British Journal of Applied Physics, a good anti-vibration material “…should possess a high damping factor which does not increase greatly with frequency, and secondly, that [sic] it should be free from any major increase […]

Explore the need for a vibration resistant material. Vibration impacts us in many ways—outside of the workplace as well as in the work environment. At work, employees are exposed to vibration when operating heavy machinery, pneumatic hand tools, industrial equipment, commercial vehicles, and material handling devices. Vibration exposure comes in the form of whole body […]

Use a solid Viscoelastic material. What’s a solid viscoelastic material? It is a material that possesses characteristics of a liquid substance, alongside of attributes of a solid substance. Such a material, when impacted by of a force, will absorb energy and flow as if it were a viscous liquid. Once the source of the impact […]

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 […]

Explore camera related vibration issues. Cameras contain optics and electronics. These sensitive structures are susceptible to damage when exposed to vibration. Such exposure can occur during operation, storage, or shipping. Vibration exposure while operating the camera can result in poor output quality regarding photography and videography. To address these vibration-related issues, you must ask—What’s a good vibration damping […]

Good vibration damping material controls amplitude and frequency. Vibration is an oscillating energy source. It consists of forces of defined frequencies that occur with a cyclical repetition. When an object or person is impacted by this oscillating energy, a transfer of this energy occurs at the point impact. This results in the phenomenon termed vibration—the familiar back-and-forth or […]