When vibration is an issue, the right material can make all the difference. Vibration mounts, isolators, and other damping parts can be made with a variety of materials, but it’s essential to find the best, most cost-effective compound for your applications.

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Of course, it’s not easy to figure out which material is right for your parts if your not a material expert. Rubber is naturally quite good at dampening vibration, but there are a wide range of different compounds available. Let’s break down what impacts your options and how to choose the best vibration damping materials for your needs.

Ideal Characteristics for Vibration Dampening Materials

Before you can determine which material is best suited for your vibration damping needs, it’s important to consider what you need your parts to do. There are a variety of factors that impact how well your part can deaden vibration, but some applications may favor one characteristic over another. Those factors include:

• Durometer
• Required resistances
• Part size and weight
• Adhesion to metal

Durometer

Determining the right durometer is arguably the most important factor when investing in any parts that will dampen vibration. Any materials used in your parts will need to accommodate the right hardness so that your isolators or other parts aren’t too soft or too stiff. As such, you’ll need to test various materials (and even different formulations of those materials) to achieve the best durometer to dampen any unwanted vibration and sound.

Required resistances

Your operating environment also plays a major role in dictating which materials are right for your parts. Simply put, you need your parts to not only survive, but thrive under different conditions.

Exposure to the outdoors is one such challenge. Any parts that are exposed to the elements will need to resist weathering, ozone exposure, water, and other elemental factors. Other dampeners may be exposed to oil or other substances that can break down some materials over time. Finally, it's always best practice to consider temperature range if your parts will be subjected to hot or cold environments.

Part size and weight

The overall design of the part also impacts material selection and manufacturing. For example, some grommets and isolators will need enough rubber to withstand any pressure coming from the application itself. Other parts may need to be a certain size and weight to properly dampen vibration and noise – too much or too little weight and the parts either won’t work or make the situation worse.

The best way to determine which materials are best is through testing. While you may be able to narrow your selection down to certain materials with an ideal durometer and weight range. This process will help ensure that your parts are right and help you determine the most cost-effective solution to absorb vibrations for your applications.

Adhesion to metal

Simply put, vibration dampeners aren’t going to work if they fall off of your applications. Whether you’re mounting your isolator to a compression or a pipe, these anti-vibration tools need to stay put and do their job. In the case of extreme vibration energy or tricky surfaces, it might be best to opt for higher-quality materials bond better to metal inserts.

Best Material Options for Vibration Damping

When it comes to vibration isolation, there are a few different go-to rubber materials that will make sense for the vast majority of applications.

• EPDM
• Natural rubber
• Neoprene

EPDM

EPDM rubber is an extremely tough, versatile part that is very resistant to weathering and heat. This particular synthetic material can be formulated in a variety of ways, which offers a lot a variety in terms of weight and durometer and adhesion to metal.

Natural rubber

If you need a part that combines vibration damping with high tensile and tear strength, natural rubber is an intriguing option. Natural rubber can take a beating for a long time – just don’t expect it to hold up well in outdoor conditions or oil resistance.

Neoprene

Neoprene is a multipurpose elastomer that shines in two key situations for vibration damping – oil resistance and adhesion to metal. While a more expensive material than EPDM and other compounds, it’s ability to resist exposure to oil and ability to hold onto metal surfaces and inserts can be worth the cost in order to limit part failure.

Invest in the Best Materials for Your Vibration Damping Applications

When vibration can’t be an issue, it’s important to get your parts right. The good news is that Timco is here to help you determine the best, most cost-effective vibration damping materials for your applications.

Vibration Damping: What Is It and What Rubber Is Best for It?

Posted By:  Sperry & Rice

Sometimes in products, or in industrial applications, vibration is an issue that requires a solution. In our business, we create solutions called vibration damping, and we do it with extruded rubber components.

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In fact, when vibration is an issue, the right rubber formulation can make all the difference. But first, let’s get back to basics. What is vibration?

Vibration is a mechanical occurrence where shaking or oscillations occur due to imbalances in a rotating part (like a motor) or uneven friction. If vibration isn’t controlled, it can cause damage to the entire assembly or unit, specific parts, or even worse, fail and cause damage far beyond a part failure. To prevent any of these bad things from happening, you need vibration damping materials and components.

Vibration damping uses materials, often rubber, to absorb vibrations caused by machinery or moving parts. It 

can take the form of rubber vibration mounts, pads, washers, isolators, or gaskets, and can be made with a variety of rubber compounds, but are commonly made of natural rubber, EPDM, neoprene, and butyl rubber.

We’ll cover these materials one by one, but first, a few qualities that vibration dampeners require: adhesion to substrates, durometer, and resistance to other substances (ie, chemicals, oils, heat). Which material you choose for your vibration damping needs will depend on your application, and it’s important to know how different rubber compounds perform under different conditions.

Substrate Adhesion

No material can deaden vibrations if it doesn’t adhere to your parts or components. If a rubber doesn’t adhere well to your substrates, it will fall off and render the damping useless. 

Durometer

Making sure the rubber used in your damping components isn’t too hard or too soft is crucial. Too hard and you may lose damping ability; too soft and your part may tear and fall off. It’s important to test different formulations to determine the exact right durometer for your project.

Resistance

Considering the environment in which your rubber components will be used is extremely important. Vibration dampeners need to survive and lead a productive life, so understanding what elements the rubber will be exposed to is crucial. Temperature, oils, chemicals, weather, etc., can wear down parts and cause failure so it’s vital to understand rubbers’ interactions with its environment.

There are a few different vibration damping rubber materials used in most applications:

Natural Rubber

Natural rubber is a good vibration damping material that features high tensile strength, but its main drawback is that it doesn’t hold up well outdoors or in conditions that feature oils, due to its poor oil resistance.

EPDM

EPDM is a synthetic rubber that features high resistance to heat and weather and features excelled substrate adhesion and durometer. It can also be formulated in numerous different compounds for many different applications.

Neoprene

Neoprene excels in two specific areas for vibration damping: its superior adhesion to substrates, and its resistance to oil. Neoprene is a bit more expensive than other rubbers but its ability to stick to substrates (especially metal) and its ability to perform in oily conditions makes it a great damping option.

Butyl Rubber

Butyl rubber is a synthetic rubber that features low gas and moisture permeability and is extremely resistant to heat, abrasion, and tearing, which makes it an excellent option for damping vibrations.

As you can see, vibration damping parts and components can be made with a variety of rubbers, but it is crucial to find the best performing and most cost-effective option for your project. But that can be difficult unless you are a rubber expert. Fortunately, Sperry & Rice has a trained team of engineers experienced in all rubber formulations to help you determine which is right for your next project.

Sperry & Rice offers innovative engineering, advanced manufacturing processes, and comprehensive quality controls to produce precision extruded synthetic rubber components for the HVAC, automotive, transportation, and appliance industries. Our reputation lies in making sure that the rubber we provide makes the finished products of our clients reliable, and of the highest quality.