Machine Antivibration Device

BUILD A MACHINE EARTHQUAKE AND VIBRATORY PROTECTION DEVICE
NO BUMP ALLOWED!

Protect your machine and increase its functioning, reliability and longevity with a simple Machine Antivibration Device

MAD PAD sandwiches under machine

During earthquakes and other physical situations, such as sliding, moving, placing, setting, dropping, shaking, bumping, tilting, and inertial inflections from picking up, holding and inherent vibratory transmissions, a machine is attacked and can undergo harsh oscillations and vibratory motions. The micro effects of these physical strains are also important considerations.

These physical conditions attack the mechanics of the machine and its electronic components and can cause a certain amount of degradation. With PCB based machines, components can degrade their silicon based structures and trace micro cracks can happen within the components sub structures and board trace elements. 

With solderless breadboards, the connector spring constants are attacked and weakened, and structures may lose their ability to strongly hold wiring. Wires can also shift, putting strain not only at connection points but stresses within the wire routing. The entire machine can lose its longevity functioning and prematurely fail.

Components have shifting mass and may pull out their connections in one or more places. To the unsuspecting person, merely switching on the machine can wreck havoc and blow out circuits when the effects add up, connections are lost, and components and wiring end up modified from the original machine.

What's the solution? Meet the Machine Antivibration Device. The MAD is designed to minimize vibrations. Mad dimensions are dependent on the machines structure, size, weight, and construction. MADs are created from a homogenized layer of flexible rubber that can flex in all directions. MAD layers are placed within the machine at stress points and allowed to flex when attacked. MAD layers are created to further increase anti vibratory effects. Island isolation points are advantageous to prevent further traveling vibrations throughout the machine.

In its simplest form for a typical Propeller based machine and breadboards, the MAD is created from a quarter inch thick continuously molded rubber platform on which the machine rides and is free to move. Microscopically, this isolates the machine in some degree from the base vibrations. The degree of isolation depends on many factors including the type of vibrations and their nature. The MAD can reduce and even eliminate vibrations from being transmitted to a machine. This increases the life and reliability of the machine.

In a typical test at the lab, small sections of MAD were created using discarded rubber inner tubes from tires. These are found at tractor supply centers, surplus trade centers, automotive repair centers and bike shops. Mads are created and place along a triangular three point geometric configuration. In physics, a plane will come to rest at three points. This config isolates the points of rest and lines of vibratory transmission.

The direction of MAD layers are set in multiple orthogonal directions for best functioning. Rotate each layer when putting together multiple layers in constructing a platform for the machine to best capture vibrations occurring in all directions.