Sound insulation and noise insulation in industry and technology

Apart from sound absorbers for applications in room acoustics, we at aixFOAM also offer sound insulation solutions specifically for technical acoustics or industrial acoustics. But what does this term actually mean?

In the area of room acoustics, the focus is often on sound optimisation in order to improve intelligibility or the sound of music. Technical acoustics instead involves removing noise as much as possible.

In contrast to room acoustics, where the causes of acoustic problems are mostly in the room itself, e.g. because ceilings are too high and there are hard surfaces that promote reverberation, technical acoustics mostly deals with insulating individual noise sources such as heavy machinery, plant or engines and lowering the sound pressure level.

In industry, there are two critical arguments for well planned noise insulation and the use of sound absorbers in the technical area.

With soundproofing in technical acoustics, the first aim is to switch off noise as a disturbance and source of danger for people and the environment. Otherwise, loud machinery, engines and plant in factories quickly become an issue for employees or an irritation for neighbours. Additionally, noise has a strong negative effect on communication and productivity and dangerously increases the risk of ear damage and heart-circulatory illnesses. A noise level of 80 dB therefore should not be permanently exceeded.

In addition, a reduction in noise pollution at the workplace is also required by statutory regulations such as the workplace directive or the noise protection ordinance.

Increasingly, silence has also become established in technical acoustics as a quality factor. Quietly working machinery and plant are seen as modern, clean, high quality and efficient. Thus quiet machines can become a genuine competitive advantage over the competition. This development gives engineers and designers in particular the task of lowering the noise level of their "charges". Especially for machinery, plant and equipment production, we at aixFOAM therefore offer individual, tailored productions for the perfect fit for your sound insulation in housings and machinery alongside standard sound insulation mats.

Large machines, plant or vehicles often cause noise in the form of an unpleasant, loud drumming, which is caused by the transmission of structure-borne sound in the machine body or chassis and is subsequently emitted into the surroundings. There are two different ways to insulate noise on technical equipment.

On one hand, individual components or components can be dampened. In other cases, a complete, sound-insulating housing / enclosure makes sense. In any case, the sound absorbers should be positioned as close to the source of the noise as possible.

The soundproofing of individual components, machine or vehicle parts is always sensible if the source of the noise can be precisely named, the noise area can be clearly delineated and there are no excessive vibrations on the overall construction. For example, even the partial fitting of sound absorbers in engine rooms on vehicles, ships and yachts can ensure considerably lower noise emissions.

Server rooms or switch cabinets, where there is a high noise level because of the large number of different fans and cooling systems, can also be dampened through the use of the right sound insulation components, e.g. absorbers for sound insulation of a system base.

If the machine generates very strong vibrations, the noise source cannot be restricted to a specific component or the corresponding components of a machine / plant cannot be insulated separately, a complete enclosure or encapsulation (isolation or enclosure) is sensible.

To this end, a casing (encapsulation) made of wood, plastic or metal is built around the machine or production plant. Ideally, this is then completely clad with a combination of heavy acoustic foam and sound absorbers as soundproofing. For example, a sound insulation container or sound insulation casing can be erected around particularly loud generators, compressors or lathe and milling machines.

At aixFOAM we look back on 60 years of manufacturing high quality sound absorbers. Through constant research and optimisation of our acoustic foams, we have succeeded in developing flexible and robust sound absorbers with high absorption coefficients. The porous structure of our absorbers allows sound to penetrate into the material, where it is converted through friction into (imperceptible) heat energy and absorbed.

aixFOAM sound absorbers reduce noise and material vibrations and are available in several fire protection classes and material thicknesses. Different surface laminations make our sound absorbers especially resistant to dirt and liquids and thanks to the practical installation options the elements can be quickly and flexibly installed.

We know from experience that sound insulation in technical acoustics / industrial acoustics form an extremely complex and individual subject. Many plants, machines and devices are special productions, designed to meet the respective requirements in production and the company. We therefore offer tailored sound insulation components in addition to the standard sound absorbers in platforms from our Online Shop. As a manufacturing company, we are able to realise small and series production, as well as the development of prototypes.