Isolation mounts are rubber-to-metal bonded assemblies that protect machinery, vehicles and equipment from shock and vibration. They consist of a molded rubber component and a metal flange or threaded fastener that supports mounting. By isolating an object from the source of shock and vibration, isolation mounts stop energy that can weaken mechanical structures. They differ from vibration dampers in that damping absorbs or changes this energy rather than trying to prevent its entry.
If you need isolation mounts, The Rubber Group can provide you with either standard or custom products.
Standard Isolation Mounts
The Rubber Group supplies isolation mounts in standard configurations with many different U.S. thread and metric insert sizes. At our manufacturing center in Rochester, New Hampshire (USA), we maintain a large inventory of standard products for a wide range of load conditions. These rubber mounts are available for same-day shipping and are used with pumps, motors, HVAC systems, laboratory equipment, and consumer appliances.
Standard isolation mounts from The Rubber Group include:
- bushing and washers
- cylindrical vibration mounts
- elastomeric couplings
- grommet isolators
- isolation pads
- isolation rings
- machinery mounts
- two-piece mounts
- vehicle mounts
Contact us to learn what’s available.
Continental Vibration Control Technology
The Rubber Group is the exclusive U.S. distributor of the Continental lines of industrial vibration control products. This includes the MEGI® and SCHWINGMETALL® brands. Products include cylindrical buffers, rail strips, impact mounts, cone mounts, angle mounts, dome mounts, machine mounts and hydro mounts. The Rubber Group and Continental engineers can review your application and recommend a solution using one of their standard configurations.
Custom Isolation Mounts
The Rubber Group can also provide you with custom isolation mounts made of natural rubber, silicone, neoprene, EPDM, or nitrile. Each of these elastomers withstands different environments, so consider operating conditions such as temperature, humidity, sunlight, ozone, abrasion, and exposure to fluids or chemicals. The shape of the custom isolation mount, the maximum impact and non-impact loads, bolt size, base size, and mounting dimensions are also key specifications.
Engineers who design custom isolation mounts must consider the weight, size and shape, and center-of-gravity of the object that needs to be isolated.
- The weight of the object affects both the type and size of the rubber isolator.
- The object’s size and shape can determine the type of attachment (e.g., threaded fasteners vs. metal flange) and the space available for attachment.
- Because of the object’s weight distribution, the center-of-gravity may require the use of anti-vibration mounts with different load capacities at different points on the object.
In addition, engineers need to determine if a custom isolation mount must be self-leveling and if the disturbances that require isolation are random or sinusoidal. For example, isolation mounts that are used with military electronics equipment are subjected to random vibration tests under MIL-STD-810. By contrast, shipping containers that use anti-vibration mounts may need to withstand sinusoidal vibrations because they’re moved by trucks with engines that have a sinusoidal stroke path.
Additional considerations when designing custom isolation mounts include loads other than the supported weight and the fragility of the object. For example, an aircraft that makes high-speed turns needs to withstand greater dynamic loads. With factory machinery, there’s probably a greater amount of allowable movement or “sway space” than with sensitive medical equipment or desktop-mounted scientific instruments.
For more information about custom isolation mounts, contact The Rubber Group.
Load Testing
The Rubber Group has a state-of-the-art MTS universal testing system that is capable of providing load-deflection data for your product. The machine is capable of loads up to 10,000 kg (22,000 lbs.) and with a very high sampling rate, the data resolution is excellent. Integrated software allows for analyzing the data in any way desired and facilitates understanding what is happening at any point during the test cycle. The Rubber Group can also design and fabricate any fixtures that are required to test your application accurately.