Digitalization and the lean management approach are considered a welcome slimming cure in many companies. How digital progress is simplifying processes in planning and design is demonstrated above all by solutions designed from the user's perspective. Configuration and calculation programs from ACE and two practical cases serve as examples.


ACE Stoßdämpfer GmbH provides design engineers with a product portfolio that goes beyond damping technology. In addition to speed control and safety products, the company has added numerous solutions to its vibration control technology range. Whether industrial and safety shock absorbers, industrial gas springs or hydraulic brake cylinders, clamping elements, rotary brakes, pneumatic air spring elements or vibration-isolating plates and rubber-metal isolators, ACE offers free digital services for the configuration and design of its components for virtually any construction 24/7 on its website:

www.ace-ace.de/de/berechnungen.html

In addition, ACE's commercial customers can use the online store linked to the tools on the ACE homepage to seamlessly order the products determined by design at the click of a mouse and have them delivered by parcel service in a short time.

Customer 1 solves vibration problem with ACE online tool

This was the solution chosen by an ACE customer who uses a bowl feeder for pre-sorting, organizing, conveying and supplying parts in an automated production process. During operation, vibrations were transmitted to an aluminum frame. The result was a disturbing humming sound. The customer found the ideal solution within a few minutes on the ACE website. All he had to do was enter a few key data such as the existing mass of 212 kg, an excitation frequency of 100 Hz and the support points. Since then, four vibration isolating vibration dampers have exceeded the customer's desired vibration isolation of 90 percent and reliably decouple the vibration source.

The starting point for this exemplary solution is the direct link to the calculation program for vibration damping:

www.ace-ace.de/en/berechnungen/schwingungsdaempfung.html

Users can calculate more than two thirds of all typical design cases themselves in a very short time and have the appropriate machine mounting displayed. After entering a few key data, the program directly calculates the machine's center of mass and thus the individual load on the support points, with the additional option of choosing between alternative products and thus also between different final costs for vibration damping.

Theoretically, in this case the vibration measurement could also have been determined quickly and easily on site using ACE's proprietary app, the VibroChecker. The Langenfeld-based company offers this free app in three languages for iPhones and iPads and, with an additional small utility program, also for desktop computers. For example, VibroChecker can be found as an iOS app in the Apple Store at this link:

https://apps.apple.com/de/app/vibrochecker/id819293915


Customer 2 finds customized solution against vibrations

The second application also involved separating materials from each other. This time, the task was to decouple two blast wheel systems weighing several tons from the concrete floor. Vibration-isolating panels were retrofitted under the systems for this purpose. Their primary task is to prevent vibrations from being transmitted from the systems to the concrete floor, which could affect sensitive roughness measuring devices and personnel in the adjacent measuring room. The latter was concerned with determining the roughness of surfaces to be processed. Depending on the operating mode of the two blast wheel systems, the measurements required for this were no longer feasible due to the vibrations generated during the work process.

In this complex case, ACE, as a long-standing partner, was first consulted by telephone. The technical advisors recommended the SLAB panels from the field of vibration technology:

www.ace-ace.de/de/produkte/schwingungstechnik/schwingungsisolierende-platten/slab-170-bis-slab-275.html

The supplied elements can be glued to the substrate under existing machines and systems for installation with little effort. Although this type of damping with viscoelastic PUR materials is associated with the isolation or deceleration of vibrations in most industrial applications, ACE has also succeeded in eliminating additional shocks with this material. To this end, the sheets in the SLAB 030 to SLAB 300 product family can be quickly tailored to the respective application:

www.ace-ace.de/de/berechnungen/daempfungsmatten-konfigurator-online.html

In this case, SLAB 720 panels were determined for the larger blast wheel system and specific dimensions for the smaller SLAB 600 panels using the calculation software for vibration-isolating panels, which can also be found online free of charge:

www.ace-ace.de/de/berechnungen/isolationsmatten-konfigurator-online.html

The quality and size of the panels were determined beforehand using excitation frequency and point load calculations. With standard densities of 720 or 600 kg/m³ and a material thickness of 25 mm, they are now able to eliminate the vibrations that occur to such an extent that they can no longer be felt in the adjacent measuring room. According to the customer, this is a real competitive advantage, and for ACE it is another case that has been solved thanks to SLAB panels, and one that is literally difficult given that the systems weigh several tons.