Insulating Machines - How To Introduce A Noisy Machine Into A Quiet Environment With The Use Of Insulation & Sound Proofing Products.

Compressors, motors and gears all make noise and exposure to consistent noise above certain levels is harmful to hearing over prolonged periods of time. These are the issues that are usually considered when designing machines.  Often simply overlooked is the incorporation of insulation products into a machines build.  The addition of insulation materials when building a machine may lead to further orders based upon your machines acoustic performance. 

Throughout my years as a project enginner I have designed machine insulation products and packages for some of the largest manufacturers in the UK 

The interesting question is how do I go about installing insulation into a machines build?  Well, based upon our experience, we recommend definining the noise sources and try to insulate as close to the noise source as possible. 
A machine noise barrier product can be applied to the panels of the machine to block to the sound penetrating through the metal.  If the noise is creating vibration of the metal or composite panels you may require a sound deadening layer first.  As machine weight is usually not as critical as other applications this allows a whole suite of high performance machine insulation materials which can be used. 

The recommended sound deadening layer for use within machines ButylMAT:



Key factors of recommending this product, despite its performance for panel dampening is its operating temps of -40C to +90C and its tear proof outer filmic barrier, enabling it to be easily fitted to complex geometry.  

Machine noise barrier layer recommendation: DeciLAM self adhesive mass loaded vinyl. 



DeciLAM is compatible with many applications.  With a wipe clean red surface denoting its flammability performance to EuroCLASS B-s2-d0 this will reduce sound transmission by upto 27dB.  Please see the link to the video below: 


The above products are suggested for possible application to machine panels of a metal or composite nature to insulate the machine and reduce unwanted noise. 

If your application requires high airflow to stop the overheating of motors or similar and it is impossible to block the sound there are another set of machine insulation products available to reduce sound, these are sound absorbing products. Usually light weight and fiberous.  The performance of these can then be matched to the approximate frequecy which is being emitted from the noise source.  There are a few clever ways to approximate the frequency of the noise without puchasing expensive equipment. I suggest you try to search for a video online of differing frequencies and try to match this to the machines frequency whilst the machine is in operation.  This will offer you an insight into the approximate frequency (in Khz) The higher frequencies are usually more readily absorbed by high performance insulation products due to their shorter wavelength. 

Our recommendation for machine acoustic absorption is 3M Thinsulate: 



Lightweight and conformable whilst being a high performance acoustic insulation product. It is self adhesive which bonds to most substrates and is available in sheets 600mm x 1000mm. 


We hope this machine insulation blog has provided some insight into incorporating insulation products into your next machine build and please get in touch if you require any further insights. 
Tel: 07513 360708