Thanks to government legislation along with increased awareness of the dangers of excessive noise, there have been many recent innovations which help reduce the din made by industrial machinery. For example, modern gearboxes and geared motors often feature couplings and components which are specifically designed to help reduce noise either through the material they are made from or via a design mechanism which minimises impactful contact between particular surfaces.
While the health and safety of employees such as machine operators or simply those who work in the vicinity of industrial machines is of paramount importance, there are other reasons why an industrial business may seek to soundproof its factories and reduce the noise of its machines as much as possible. While most factories and works are situated in industrial estates, there are still plenty which are located in residential areas where the noise must be carefully controlled so as not to disturb nearby residents. Some factories may also remain operational throughout the night and thus require noise reduction during the wee hours when sound travels so much further.
However, while it might be easy to identify the reasons why a business would seek to reduce its noise output, the problem can arise when trying to identify the correct solution.
Understanding Industrial Acoustics
The facts are that there are many different kinds of noise produced by an operational factory or works, and each of them may require a different solution. Noise control solutions are not a one-size-fits-all job, so the complexities of the individual factory or works need to recognised and understood before seeking out the solution or, more likely, solutions that will serve an individual business’ needs.
There are experts in the field of industrial acoustics that can be consulted, though they will be more useful with a larger company with more complex operations. A smaller business that perhaps just needs to reduce the noise made by one or two machines will usually find a solution much easier than larger works which have dozens of different types of machinery in operation at any one time. But regardless of the size of the business, it’s important to identify the issue that needs dealing with before spending any money on a solution so that you know in advance that the solution being paid for will definitely solve the problem.
Reducing the Noise of Gearboxes & Geared Motors
Modern gearboxes manufacture usually involves some sort of noise reduction feature, such as the Heynau gearboxes which feature noise reducing components in many of their designs. Couplings can also be made of certain materials which help minimise the grind of surfaces contacting with each other.
Other solutions for soundproofing a factory include the likes of acoustic panels on the walls which help absorb sound instead of letting it pass through to the outside. Floating floors are another option worth investigating, as is the possibility of certain ventilation techniques which can disperse noise away from one particular area. Of course, such solutions only really help reduce the noise to those outside the factory, so to help employees working with noisy machinery you should seek out machine parts such as geared-motor units that aid with noise reduction.
If the noise is still excessive after trying these solutions, then noise-blocking ear protectors are obviously required for employees operating loud machinery whose volume cannot be reduced via the clever inclusion of noise-reducing components.
If you need gearboxes & geared motors that help with industrial noise reduction, then contact YB Components who can ship such parts all over the world.