Drilling machines, lathes, presses, saws, and shearing machines. The list continues! Metal processing is a large industry with many different applications and pieces of equipment. Each machine plays an important role in the production process. This also means that each piece of equipment has its own vibration isolation and leveling needs.
We’ve helped take the fuss out of determining the right solutions for your specific equipment by breaking down the vibration and leveling solutions by each type of machine they will best serve. Let’s get started!
An economical and effective solution for vibration and structure borne noise are vibration isolation pads. They are made from a precisely defined combination of nitrile rubber and cork particles embedded in a composite of cotton fibers. This material composition ensures secure anti-slip protection on conventional industrial floors and has high resistance properties to modern cooling lubricants.
With 15 different types of pads available, narrowing it down to the right one can be challenging. Let’s go through some of the options and their best use.
B4 pads are very universal. They are well suited for machines that have a tendency to “walk” due to their waffle design. If you are working with a drilling machine, milling machine, or saw this may be your ideal vibration isolation pad choice.
B0 pads have very good level consistency. This type has no profiles and is specifically for machines with low natural rigidity, making it the ideal choice for machining centers, lathes, milling machines, and grinding machines.
B6 pads have extremely high load capacity with the highest level consistency. This type without profiles is best suited for very heavy and long bed machines such as machining centers, boring mills, long bed lathes, grinding machines, and transfer lines.
B5 and B50 pads are both well suited for machines subject to very highly dynamic disturbing force, such as presses, shears, and punches. B5 pads have a profile to compensate for uneven floors while B50 does not.
The B32 and B32W pads are a soft type that are comparable to the B30 but with greater isolation effect. B32W has a profile and B32 does not. They have an excellent isolation effect for mid-sized presses, punches, and shears.
Similar to the B32 and B2W, B30 and B30W pads are a soft type, but with a lesser vibration isolation effect. This makes them ideal for low-frequency matching for some punching and nibbling machines. B30 is without profiles and B30W is with profiles.
When it comes to leveling your metal processing equipment you have two options, leveling mounts or leveling wedges.
Leveling mounts are used for machine installations where vibration and structure borne noise isolation is needed. These machine mounts are maintenance-free and guarantee the simple and precise leveling of machines. Two ideal leveling mount options for the metal processing industry are:
BNSH leveling mounts are specifically designed for the mounting of presses and punches. They have optimum load distribution due to our proven pressure plate design and are particularly suitable for machines that tend to “walk”.
BNR leveling mounts are very effective leveling mounts with light to medium heavy machines. These mounts are used where a firm connection is required between the machine and leveling mount. This is the ideal choice for lathes, machining centers, and grinding machines.
Precise leveling wedges are the other ideal option for leveling metal processing equipment. Due to their large contact area, leveling wedges for vibration and structure borne noise offer optimum support and stiffening of the machine bed. They are available in free standing, bolt-on, and bolt-thru options. There are four ideal options for metal processing equipment:
PK B-mounting leveling wedge is free-standing specifically for machines without mounting holes in the machine bed. Its top face has anti-slip plate BS and its bottom plate has a B0 isolation pad. This is an ideal solution for lathes, grinding machines, milling machines, machine centers, and transfer lines.
PK D-mounting leveling wedge is also a free-standing leveling wedge. Its top face has a BR7-1 anti-slip plate and its bottom face has a B5 isolation pad. This leveling wedge is best suited for machines with high dynamic forces such as presses, shears, and punches.
PKA 1-0 to PKA 8-0 leveling wedges are bolt-on leveling wedge options for machines that are subject to high thrust and require permanent connection to the machine bed. This leveling wedge is best suited for lathes, boring mills, grinding machines, and machine centers.
PKD 1-0 to PKD 8-0 leveling wedges are a bolt-thru option for machines that must absolutely be anchored due to unfavorable center of gravity conditions or for machines with little natural rigidity. This wedge is the optimal solution for boring and milling machines, machining centers, and long bed lathes.
Finding the right solution for your specific equipment is crucial to ensuring you have optimum vibration isolation and leveling effects. Now that we have gone through your different options, you can better understand which are best for your machine and plant.
