DP Seals used its extensive in tool rubber to metal bonding expertise to develop a novel anti-noise, anti-vibration mounting for Pathogen Solutions Medixair product. In a single-step moulding process, DP Seals encapsulates the products casing bracket and fan mount with EPDM, creating an efficient noise and vibration absorbing rubber membrane between the two.
"Elimination of noise and vibration was a key design consideration due to the sensitive nature of the user environments," notes chief engineer John Willcox. "When the mount used in early production became unavailable we needed to source a new solution. Working closely with DP Seals¹'engineers, we now have an equally effective – and much more cost-effective – anti-vibration, anti-noise solution."
Medixair is a floor-standing unit that removes pathogens from the surrounding air by passing it through an ultraviolet germicidal irradiation chamber; 253.7nm wavelength UV-C radiation penetrates a microorganism¹s membrane and disrupts its DNA, rendering it harmless. Air speed through the chamber demands careful control to ensure 100% pathogen removal.
A 25m3/hr fan provides the air movement; mounting the fan directly onto the casing bracket would create too much noise and vibration. Simple anti-vibration mounts were found to be ineffective and so the engineers separated the casing bracket from the fan mount and called on DP Seals to bring to two back together. DP Seals designed a tool where the bracket and mount are positioned accurately and at different levels, allowing the rubber polymer to flow evenly and bond the two parts together.
Proven effective during outbreaks of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), recent independent trials at a 900-bed North London hospital have shown Medixair to be highly successful in eradicating airborne MRSA (Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) pathogens. At no time during the three-month trial period was MRSA found to have colonised a patient in the trial room compared to 11 out of 23 occasions in the control room. More information on the tests is available at www.medixair.com