What Material Is Best for Damping?

Consider These Questions about Damping Material

To identify what material is best for damping, consider these questions:

• What is damping?
• Why is choosing the best damping material important?
• What characteristics make a material best for damping?
• What is Sorbothane®?
• Why is Sorbothane the best material for damping?

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 vibrations, movement, or noise by converting the vibration, movement, or noise energy into heat. Because vibration, movement, and noise have adverse effects on equipment and individuals in an industrial environment, damping is used to increase the lifespan of equipment and/or improve the safety in an individual’s working environment.

Sorbothane Damping Solutions

• Vitamix® – Sorbothane partnered with Vitamix to create a powerful, premium blender that has unmatched noise reduction. Named “The Quiet One”, this blender utilizes three Sorbothane components to damp noise by 18 decibels below its closest competitor.
• Killer Instinct® Crossbows – Together with Killer Instinct Crossbows, Sorbothane produced the most effective noise and vibration damper for hunting crossbows on the market.
• Silent Feet – Inspired by a noisy washing machine, Silent Feet were designed to damp or eliminate noisy and harmful vibrations on washers and dryers.

To view other examples of Sorbothane damping solutions, check out our entrepreneur solutions showcase or our engineering solutions showcase.

Why Is Choosing the Best Damping Material Important?

Damping materials reduce or eliminate the damaging forces caused by mechanical or electrical energy (i.e., vibrations, movement, or noise). The performance of a damping material depends on the combined characteristics of the material and the environment in which it is used. It is important to choose the best damping material for a specific environment to maximize its performance. Choose the best damping material to ensure an increase in the lifespan of your equipment or an improvement in the safety of your employees in your application.

What Characteristics Make a Material Best for Damping?

Evaluate a damping material by determining how efficiently it performs with the types of energy present in your application, such as vibration, impact, or noise. Determine if its damping properties work simultaneously across multiple types of energy or across a wide range of frequencies. Consider if the material can continue to perform over an extended time period and through a wide range of temperatures and environmental conditions without losing its effectiveness. The characteristics that make a material best for damping in your application will work be the ones that specifically increase the lifespan of your equipment or improve the safety of your employees.

What Is Sorbothane?

Sorbothane is a proprietary, thermoset, polyether-based polyurethane material with a superior damping coefficient. It is a material that exhibits viscoelastic properties, meaning that it performs like a liquid under load and like an elastic solid when at rest, by converting the energy’s frequency to heat. Sorbothane is a fabricated specifically for use as a damping material.

Why Is Sorbothane the Best Material for Damping?

Sorbothane is the best damping material for several reasons:

• It absorbs up to 95% of shock energy and more than 50% of vibration energy for millions of cycles;
• It performs across frequencies from 10 to 30,000 Hertz;
• It performs across temperatures from –20° to 160° Fahrenheit (–29° to 72° Celsius);
• It is resistant to fire, chemical solvents, and performs in harsh industrial environments;
• It has a long shelf life;
• It combines shock absorption, good memory, vibration isolation, in addition to damping characteristics; and
• It is an extremely cost-effective solution because it can be easily fabricated or modified to any shape, size, and thickness.

Contact Us

For more information about how Sorbothane would perform in your application, please contact us.