hops of t en over l ook vi br at i on i s s ues when i n-
s t al l i ng machi ne t ool s or equi pment . However, pl anni ng f or vi br at i on c ont r ol , opt i mal l y be - f or e c ons t r uc t i ng a ne w f ac i l i t y or dur i ng r e - des i gn of an exi s t i ng one, can s ave s hops a l ot of mone y i n t he l ong r un. Tha t s be c a us e i s ol a t i ng machi nes and pr oces s es f r om unwant ed vi br at i on r educes f ut ur e pr obl ems s uch as bad par t - s ur f ace f i ni s hes , par t s out of t ol er ance, and even phys i o- l ogi cal damage t o shop personnel . According to Fabreeka International Inc., Stoughton, Mass., all structures, including machine tools and other equi pment, vi brate, or osci l l ate, when di spl aced from MACHINEINSTALLATION Isolation systems optimize manufacturing processes. By Leslie Gordon, associate editor ISOLATING UNWANTED VIBRATION Large machines typically require attaching their frames or beds to a concrete foundation, often called a reaction or inertia mass. Large machines typically require attaching their frames or beds to a concrete foundation, often called a reaction or inertia mass. Reprinted from AMERICAN MACHINIST May 2005 0854_AM_FAIN 5/11/05 8:43 AM Page 40 A n example from the Fabreeka files includes a company with an industrial fan transmitting vibration into its floor support, felt by office personnel on the same floor. The vibration was not severe, but personnel found it annoying. t hei r equi l i br i um ( s t at i c) posi t i on and cont i nue vi - brating naturally until dis- si pati ng al l the energy re- c e i ve d. Vi br at i on i s expressed i n frequency, or number of oscillations/unit of t i me. The uni t c yc l e s / s e c i s c al l e d a Hertz (Hz). Eve r y phys i c al s ys t e m possesses a nat ural vi bra- t i on- f r equency pr oper t y. For some, such as a slab of steel, the natural frequency is high, and for others, such as rubber, it is low. An iso- lator, which suppresses un- wanted vibration, also has a damping property that de- creases t he f requency am- pl i t ude of an os c i l l at i ng system. Unwanted vibration Machines and equipment can be either the source or the recipient of unwanted vi- bration and both may require isolation. For example, rotat- ing, reciprocating, and im- pacting equipment all create unwanted machine-induced vi- bration and shock, a t ran- s i ent condi t i on wher e an MACHINEINSTALLATION After a survey, Fabreeka had information that included: - Fan weight: 14,000 lb, uniformly distributed. - Fan speed: 1,800 rpm (30 Hz). - The fan is near a floor column support, meaning the support is stiff. - There are no adverse environmental conditions. - The fan is skid-mounted and anchored to the floor. After calculations, the solution involved placing isolators at the anchor-bolt locations. Since vibration disturbance was not severe, only annoying, a 75% reduction would suffice. Fabreeka specialists calculated the transmissibility ratio and used an isolator with a 13.39-Hz natural frequency. REDUCING INDUSTRIAL-FANVIBRATION Equipment requiring isolation is often the source of unwanted vibration... ...or the recipient of it. applied force suddenly dis- r upt s a s ys t e ms e qui l i b- rium. This vibration trans- mi t s t o t he mac hi ne s support i ng f l oor- sl ab and the soi l underneath. Here, using isolation reduces the vibration transmitted to the floor. On the other hand, preci- s i on mac hi ne t ool s and CMMs requi re prot ect i on from vibration. With them, i sol at i on syst ems keep vi - brat i on wi t hi n accept abl e limits to maintain machine per f or mance and achi eve desired finishes, tolerances, and accuracies. Machi nes can al so bot h c r e at e and r e c e i ve un- want e d vi br at i on. For example, a surface grinder t ypi cal l y requi res prot ec- ti on from fl oor vi brati on. Howe ve r, t he gr i nde r s heavy table reversing while in operation also produces l arge dynami c f orces t hat can di sturb nearby equi p- ment. Fabreeka says isolation is not typically required for less- sensitive machines. But pro- tecti on i s cr i t i cal when i t comes t o bi g i nves t ment s such as ultra precise and ac- curat e equi pment , or ma- c hi ne s wi t h l ong b e d s , whi ch r equi r e anchor i ng and aligning. Robert Haley, engineering manager at Fabreeka, ex- plains, To better understand A standard pneumatic isolator has a natural frequency of approximately 2.5 Hz. These isolators require a source of clean, dry gas with pressures from 60 to 120 psi. 0854_AM_FAIN 5/11/05 8:43 AM Page 42 vibration isolation and damp- i ng, pi cture a car. Its chassi s rest s on l eaf spri ngs. I f you t ravel down a road wi t hout shocks and hit a pothole, the whol e c ar os c i l l at e s at t he nat ur al f r e que nc y of t he springs for many cycles until dissipating the energy and the car stops. However, when you put s hoc k abs or be r s on, which are really dampers, the car oscillates at the same fre- quency, but onl y f or maybe one cycle and at a much lower amplitude. According to Fabreeka, the bi ggest sources of unwanted vibration are machines gener- ating pulses or impacts, such as i nj ecti on mol ders, i mpact t est ers, hammers, st ampi ng presses, cent ri f ugal pumps, and compressors, which typi- c al l y s e nd s e ve r e dynami c forces to the floor. Achieving isolation Shops achi eve i sol ati on by placing an isolator, or elastic element, between the unit vi- brating and its support struc- ture. Francis J. Andrews, P.E., explains, A vibration isola- tor acts as a mechanical filter. Isolator efficiency varies with its natural frequency, which is both a function of the isolator MACHINEINSTALLATION A T-shaped foundation puts the isolator in the same horizontal plane as the combined center of gravity of the machine and the foundation to eliminate motion. stiffness and the mass being supported. All vibration isolators are essentially springs with the added element of damping. I n s ome cas es , t he s pr i ng and damper are separat e, such as a coil spring isola- t or us e d wi t h a vi s c ous dampe r. Mos t i s ol at or s , however, incorporate both in one unit. I n addi t i on t o s pr i ngs , other types of isolators in- clude rubber; mats of vari- ous materi al s such as fel t, r ubbe r, and c or k; me t al coi l s; ai r bags; pneumat i c c yl i nde r s ; and c onc r e t e floating foundations. Air i sol at ors yi el d t he l owest nat ur al f r e que nc y, wi t h steel springs next, followed by e l as t ome r ( nat ur al or synthetic rubber) pads. Unfortunatel y, j ust pl ac- i ng a r ubber mat under a compressor, f or exampl e, doe s n t al ways wor k. I n f ac t , i t c an dr amat i c al l y amplify vibration transmit- ted to the floor. What hap- pe ns i s t he nat ur al f r e - que nc y of t he i s ol at or coincides exactly (resonates) with the compressors driving frequency . The r es ul t ant increase in vibration ampli- tude i s l i mi ted onl y by the amount of damping present in the isolation system. Thi s i s why Fabr e e ka stresses that designing a vi- bration-isolation system is not a do-i t-yoursel f proj ect. An experts skill lies in select- i ng the proper system based on i t s nat ur al f r e que nc y, whi ch i nvol ves det ermi ni ng application variables such as transmi ssi bi l i ty, or the rati o of output vi brati on to i nput vibration. An effective isolator for an application has a natural fre- quency well below the appli- cations input vibration. If the transmissibility ratio is much greater than one, vibration is amplified, whereas if the ratio i s l ess than thi s, vi brati on i s reduced. Vi brati on i sol ati on for any isolator begins at a ra- tio of 1.414. Small machines are typically mounted directly to isolators. Larger machi nes requi re at - taching their f rames or beds t o properl y designed founda- t i ons , al s o c al l e d r e ac t i on masses or inertia blocks. Ac- cording to Haley, it takes a lot more force to move a machine joined to a concrete block at- tached to springs than it does to move a machi ne attached only to springs. Some equi pment manufac- turers provi de al l owabl e-vi - br at i on s pe c i f i c at i ons f or t he i r mac hi ne s , but mos t dont, which makes choosing an i sol at or syst em di f f i cul t . The key is knowing the ampli- An elastomeric isolator consists of a neoprene-elastomer vulcanize-bonded to steel components, giving it stiffness in all directions. 0854_AM_FAIN 5/11/05 8:43 AM Page 44 MACHINEINSTALLATION tudes of vibration frequencies t hat har m mac hi ne r y. Fab- r eeka r epor t s t hi s i s wher e savvy companies call in a con- sultant or company specializ- ing in vibration protection. Such specialists measure vi- brati on wi th hi ghl y accurate instrumentation such as real- ti me si gnal anal yzers. These de vi c e s c apt ur e r aw dat a, wi t hout bi as , f or pos t - pr o- cessi ng and quant i f y ampl i - tude and frequency of vibra- t i on. Wi t h t hi s dat a, t he s pe c i al i s t r e c omme nds t he best isolation solution. Engi- neers then conduct acceptance t est measurement s af t er i n- stallation to verify amplitudes and t he r e s u l t a n t t r a n s - mi t t e d v i br a t i on. This housed spring isolators side bolt provides adjustable damping by applying a compression load to an internal elastomer pad. Copyright 2005 by Penton Media, Inc. w w w . f a b r e e k a . c o m 0854_AM_FAIN 5/11/05 8:43 AM Page 46