What is the Best Material to Reduce Vibration?

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 across uneven roadways potentially causes circulation problems, nerve damage, and back pain for workers using industrial equipment. Extremely high-pressure vibrations created by pneumatic hand tools can cause serious nerve and circulatory damage with prolonged use. It becomes important, therefore, to determine the best way to reduce vibrations in the work environment to protect your equipment, workforce, and ultimately, your profit margin.

What Is a Vibration-Reducing Material?

A vibration-reducing material is most frequently used in industrial environments—those environments in which excessive vibrations can be damaging. A vibration-reducing material outwardly disperses the energy caused by vibrations, by reducing the amplitude and frequency of the vibrational waves, usually in the form of thermal energy. The best vibration-reducing material prolongs the operational life of equipment and machinery.

What Are the Desirable Characteristics of a Vibration-Reducing Material?

A vibration-reducing material should have a high damping coefficient, or tan delta. It should maintain its performance without degrading over repeated usage and time. The best vibration-reducing material should have vibration absorption capabilities and vibration isolation characteristics in addition to its vibration-reducing qualities. A vibration-reducing material should be able to absorb most of the shock energy while reducing more than half of the vibration energy in a given application. Finally, a vibration-reducing material should perform over a wide range of frequencies and temperatures and withstand the conditions of a harsh industrial environment.

What Is Sorbothane®, And Why Is It The Best Material to Reduce Vibration?

Sorbothane is a proprietary, viscoelastic polymer composed of a thermoset, polyether-based polyurethane with a very high damping coefficient. Unlike pure viscous- or elastic-based materials, Sorbothane reduces vibrations over millions of cycles without degrading. Because it’s a viscoelastic material, it absorbs, isolates, and reduces vibrations simultaneously. It is capable of absorbing nearly 95% of shock energy and reducing more than 50% of vibration energy. Sorbothane performs well in nearly every industrial application.

Technical Specifications for Sorbothane

• • Sorbothane has the lowest G-force response controlling shock over time compared to materials like neoprene or butyl rubber.

• • It has low transmissibility (amplification) at resonance to better control vibration over other elastomers.

• • It decelerates parts and reduces peak forces to absorb impact during sudden stops with minimal sway space.

• • It absorbs 80% of impact force with proper dynamic deflections.

• • It performs within frequencies from 10 to 30,000 Hertz.

• • It is weather resistant and performs in temperatures from –20° to 160° Fahrenheit (–29° to 72° Celsius).

• • It has a low creep rate.

• • It is shelf-stable, resistant to fire and chemical solvents, and performs without effect in nearly every industrial environment.

Contact Us

Interested in learning why Sorbothane is recognized as the best material to reduce vibration on the market today? Contact us to speak with a materials specialist who will answer your questions about Sorbothane’s performance, technical specifications, and application parameters. We look forward to working with you to provide the best vibration-reducing material for your application. Contact us today to learn more or request a quote.