27.05.2015.

Whatareshock&vibrationabsorbers?Summary

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What are shock and vibration absorbers? Summary

PostedbyMaryGannononTuesday,May19,2015LeaveaComment

Motionispresentinalmostallindustrialautomationsystems.Stoppingorchangingthedirectionofthat
motionreleaseskineticenergy,whichcancauseshockandvibrationtooccur.Anysuddenshockina
systemcancauseimmediatedamagetotheoverallmachineandthecomponentsitmaybemanufacturing
orprocessing.Andconsistentvibrationinputscancausedamagingfatigueovertime.
Thisiswhyitsnecessarytodecelerateasystemsmoothlythroughtheuseofshockandvibration
absorbers.
Basedonthetypeofinputspresentintheapplication,vibrationandshockattenuationcomponentscanbe
comprisedofshockabsorbers,lineardampers,wireropeorspringisolators,elastomericisolators,air
springs,orstructuraldampingtreatments.Thesedeviceshelpmanufacturersreduceequipmentdowntime
andcostlycycletimelimitations.
Theseproductscanbeusedinabroadrange
ofapplications,fromtheratecontrol
mechanismsthatslowthemotionofthe
overheadluggagebinorseatreclineon
commercialaircraft,totheisolatorswhichkeep
GPSsystemsfromlosingsignalorbecoming
damagedonfarmandconstructionequipment
astheyharvestcropsorpaveroadways.
Mostshockabsorbersachievetheirdamping
characteristicsthroughtheuseofhydraulic
fluids.Thefluidispushedbyapistonandrod
throughsmallorificeholestocreatedamping,
andthisactioncompressessometypeofgas.
Thisinturncreatesaspringforcetoreturnthe
rodbacktoitsstartingpositionwhentheloadis
removed.

Vibrationandshockattenuationcomponentsincludeshockabsorbers,
lineardampers,wireropeorspringisolators,elastomericisolators,air
springs,orstructuraldampingtreatments.PhotocourtesyofITTEnidine.

Shockabsorbersanddampersaregenerally
madeofhighstrengthsteeltohandlethe
pressuresfromtheinternalhydraulic
forces.Elastomericsealspreventthefluidfrom
leakingoutofthecylinder,andspecialplating
andcoatingskeeptheunitsprotectedfrom
harshoperatingenvironments.

Recentandongoingdevelopmentsinsealingtechnologiesandintheinternaldesignsofshockabsorbers
anddampershaveallowedforlongerservicelifeandmorecompactdesigns.Ongoingresearchinthefield
ofnoiseattenuation(highfrequency,lowamplitudevibration)hasledtoanincreasedeffectivenessinnoise
reductiontechnologies.
Auniqueapplicationforthesetypesofhydraulicdampingdeviceshascomewiththeincreasedawareness
forseismicandenvironmentalprotectionofourinfrastructure(buildingsandbridges,forexample).By
addingdampingtothesecriticalstructures,energyisabsorbedbythehydraulicdevicesinsteadof
damagingthestructure.
Vibrationisolationproductsrelygenerallyonmechanicaldesignstoachievetheirisolationcharacteristics.A
springfunctionprovidessupportforthemountedequipment,whiledecouplingitfromthevibration
source.Frictionandelastomericmaterialpropertiesgivetheisolatorstheirdampingcharacteristics.
Isolatorscanbemadefromavarietyofmaterials.Wireropeandspringisolatorscanbemadefromcarbon
steel,stainlesssteeloraluminum.Elastomericisolatorsgenerallyhavemetalliccomponentsthatfunctionas
mountingbrackets,separatedbyanelastomericmaterialthatprovidesthestiffnessanddamping
desired.Commonelastomericcompoundsincludenaturalrubber,neopreneandsiliconehowever,avast
selectionofcompoundsandcompoundblendscanbeusedtoachievedifferentcharacteristicsspecificto
theapplication.
Airspringsarecomprisedofmetallicendfittingscoupledbyacompositeelastomericbasedbladderthat
containsthecompressedairusedtoprovideisolation.Thesesingleactingdesignsarecomprisedofa
pressurizedbladderandtwoendplates.Asairisdirectedintotheairbladders,theyareexpandedlinearly.

EditorialDirector,MilesBudimir
MilesBudimirholdsaBSEEdegree,has
severalyearsofengineeringexperience
includingdesigningindustrialcontrol
systems,andhasbeencoveringthemotion
controlindustryforover13years.

ManagingEditor,LeslieLangnau
LeslieLangnauistheManagingEditorofthe
DesignWorldNetwork.Shealsohasmore
than20yearsexperienceasatechnology
editor,coveringsuchareasascontrols,
mechanics,mechatronics,couplings,
industrialnetworks,andthefieldnowknown
asadditivemanufacturing(formerlyrapidprototyping).

ExecutiveEditor,LeeTeschler
LeeTeschleristheExecutiveEditorofthe
DesignWorldnetworkofwebsites,online
resourcesandprintpublications.
Leland(Lee)TeschlerworkedatPenton
Mediafor37years,startingin1977asa
StaffEditorforMachineDesign,andworkedhiswayupto
ChiefEditorofthepublicationin2006.Priortothat,hehad
beenacommunicationsengineerforthefederal
government.TeschlerholdsaB.S.inEngineeringandaB.
S.inElectricalEngineeringfromtheUniversityofMichigan,
andanMBAfromClevelandStateUniversity.

SeniorEditor,LisaEitel
Lisa(Elisabeth)EitelisaSeniorEditorat
DesignWorldmagazineanditsnetworkof
sites.ShehasaB.S.inMechanical
EngineeringfromFennCollege
(nowWashkewiczCollege)atCleveland
StateUniversityand14yearsofexperience
asatechnicalwriter.Herareasoffocusincludemotors,
drives,motioncontrol,powertransmission,linearmotion,
andsensingandfeedbacktechnologies.Sheisajudgefor
theFIRSTRoboticsBuckeyeRegionalcompetitions,an
inducteeofTauBetaPiengineeringhonorsociety,anda
memberoftheSocietyofWomenEngineers.Followheron
Twitterat@DW_LisaEitel

Moreafterthejump.
Allofthesereusabledesignsareselfcontained,offeringanumberofadvantagesoveranyothertechnology
thatmayrequireoutsidecomponentry.Forexample,hydraulicsystemsmayrequireplumbingwhile
electricalsystemsmayrequirewiringandpower.

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27.05.2015.

Whatareshock&vibrationabsorbers?Summary

FeaturedWhitePapers
ImprovetheProductivityofyourFactoryAutomation
SystemswithLightweightGearsandActuators
Wireropeisolatorsreducesystemvibration,whichcancausedamagingfatigueovertime.PhotocourtesyofITTEnidine.

SpectralDecomposition:Coordinatedcontroloffast
andslowtoolservoactuators

Energyorpowerdissipationiskeywhenselectingadamperorshockabsorbingdevice.Thesizeand
characteristicsofthedevicearebasedontheseinputs,soitisgenerallythefirstconsiderationtomake.

HelicalPlanetaryGearboxes:UnderstandingThe
Tradeoffs

Dynamicspringrateanddampingarethetwobiggestconsiderationswhenselectinganisolator.These
characteristicswilldefinethenaturalfrequency(sometimesreferredtoasresonantfrequency)ofthe
isolationsystemandareimportantinachievingthedesiredperformance.

Category:BasicsandFAQs,MechanicalPT,Shock+VibrationMitigationTags:enidine

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27.05.2015.

Whatareshock&vibrationabsorbers?Summary

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