Noise reduction is now an important consideration in the workplace. Regulations set in 1989 stipulate a course of action if noise vibration is greater than 85dBA and naturally if it exceeds the second level of 90dBA the legal requirements are correspondingly more onerous. It is therefore in the interests of both employer and employee that wherever possible quieter plant is chosen without compromising performance or productivity.
A good example is an air motor. Noise tests have recently been conducted by Huco Dynatork on its air motor range and these are soon to be ratified by independent assessment. The initial results however have proved very interesting. They highlight the differences in noise output between a standard piston air motor and a vane air motor but more importantly they identify the Huco Dynatork acetal air motor as a potential noise saving champion.
A single Huco Dynatork 1 piston air motor running with air pressure at 5.5 bar produced 83dBA when measured at a distance of 0.5m; all measurements were taken with the motor exhaust piped away so that the results were not affected by the noise of the exhaust air. A typical, brand new vane type air motor with input air pressure at 5.5 bar emitted 98dBA, well above the 85dBA threshold. Because the decibel is a logarithmic scale, actual noise pressure doubles for every increase of 3dB. This means the actual noise pressure of the vane motor is four times that of the equivalent Huco Dynatork piston air motor.
Measured under the same conditions, the Huco Dynatork 1 acetal air motor produced just 76dBA, which means its noise pressure is 16 times lower than the corresponding vane motor. And this motor is not just economical on noise emission. In common with all Huco Dynatork motors it also consumes up to 80% less air than a vane motor providing significant energy savings even at maximum torque.