Sound dampeners are a type of acoustic insulation that dissipates vibrational energy before it can radiate as sound. By stopping an object from vibrating, sound dampening products reduce noise, or unwanted sounds, that travel through the air as waves. Sound dampers, as they are sometimes called, can be used both the source of the sound and its receiver. They can also be “tuned” to address specific frequencies.
Are you wondering if sound dampeners are right for your industrial noise control application? Then keep reading to find answers to these questions.
- How do sound dampeners work?
- Which types are available?
- What questions do I need to ask about the application?
- How are sound dampers made?
Elasto Proxy fabricates sound damper products for the mobile equipment industry and can also create acoustic insulation for machine enclosures. If you need a noise control solution like this, contact us.
How Do Sound Dampeners Work
To understand how sound dampeners work, consider the example of a drummer who hits and then grabs a cymbal. Grabbing the cymbal stops it from vibrating and prevents the transmission of sound at its source. If the drummer is in a different room, a listener who installs sound dampening panels could also reduce the amount of vibration-induced sound that is received.
For a different example, consider an exercise studio in a multi-floor building. The feet of a gymnast strike a wooden floor, which is connected to the ceiling in an office below. This striking action produces vibrations that disturbs the office workers. A second gymnast then lands on a soft, dense rubber mat that dissipates the vibrational energy for noise reduction.
Types of Sound Dampening Materials
There are many different sound dampening materials, but here are four common choices.
- Extruded vinyl dampers are flexible, lightweight, and come in grades that can meet UL 94 V0 flammability requirements and ASTM standards used by the mass transit industry.
- Asphalt-impregnated paperboard dampers are odorless, wear-resistant, waterproof, lightweight, and cost-effective.
- Metal foil dampers can be embossed so that raised features in the foil disrupt sound waves as they travel across the surface.
- Fiberglass dampers are made of a reinforced plastic that’s composed of glass fibers embedded in a resin matrix.
How Sound Dampeners are Made
Sound dampening materials are supplied as sheets or rolls in specific lengths, widths, and thicknesses. Elasto Proxy then uses water jet cutting to convert these materials to size so that you don’t have to pay for or wait for tooling. CNC water jet cutting is also faster and more accurate than manual cutting. The precision that water jet technology provides ensures that sound dampeners will conform to your application environment without leaving air gaps.
Elasto Proxy can also combine acoustical materials together to create a sandwich-like product with the noise control properties that you need. For example, at our manufacturing facility near Montreal, Canada, we can laminate sound dampeners to foams and facings that serve as sound absorbers or sound blockers.
For ease of installation, Elasto Proxy can also supply you with custom acoustic insulation that has a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) with a removable liner.
Eight Questions to Ask During Sound Dampener Selection
To choose the right sound dampener, engineers need to ask and answer a series of questions. Each application is different, but this list is a good place to start.
- What is the source of the sound?
- Where is the receiver?
- Are there specific frequencies that you need to address?
- Where is the most effective location for sound dampening?
- Are vibrations traveling through support structures?
- What is the maximum insulation thickness your application can support?
- Do you also need sound blocking or sound absorption?
- Do you need acoustic insulation that also provides environmental resistance?
Elasto Proxy can help you with this process when you contact us to discuss your noise control application.
Find Sound Dampening Products Now
Elasto Proxy fabricates standard and custom acoustic insulation for industrial noise control. You can install our sound dampening products in the engine compartment or cabins of mobile equipment or use them with industrial machinery. You can also use them with generator sets (gensets) and other applications. For acoustic insulation samples you can see for yourself and hold in your hands, ask for the Elasto Bag.
This sackful of samples from Elasto Proxy includes SH-625-54-ZTBRA, a dense yet flexible thermal-acoustic insulation for maximum sound attenuation over a broad frequency range. It sandwiches a sound damper between acoustical foams and includes a metal foil facing that reflects radiant heat. For ease-of-installation, SH-625-54-ZTBRA uses an adhesive-backed liner.
Are you ready to learn more? Request the Elasto Bag.
