Unchecked machine vibration can accelerate rates of wear (i.e. reduce bearing life) and damage equipment. Vibrating machinery can create noise, cause safety problems and lead to degradation in plant working conditions. Vibration can cause machinery to consume excessive power and may damage product quality.
Vibration can cause changes in tendons, muscles, bones and joints, and can affect the nervous system. Collectively, these effects are known as Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS). Workers affected by HAVS commonly report: attacks of whitening (blanching) of one or more fingers when exposed to cold.
Vibration can accelerate machine wear, consume excess power, and cause equipment to be taken out of service, resulting in unplanned downtime. Other effects of vibration include safety issues and diminished working conditions.
Who Cannot Use Vibration Plates? If you have heart disease or suffered a heart attack in the past, vibrating plates should be avoided. This also applies if you've experienced a stroke, have a pacemaker, or been diagnosed with a blood clotting disorder.
Vibration is a significant destabilizing source that can seriously degrade the operation, lessen the working life, and, in some cases, lead to catastrophic failure of mechatronic -- integrated mechanical, electrical and computer systems -- devices.
Vibration is transmitted into your hands and arms when using hand held / operated tools and machinery. Excessive exposure can affect the nerves, blood vessels, muscles and joints of the hand, wrist and arm causing Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS).
Vibration Fatigue is a specific type of mechanical fatigue that is caused by the vibration of equipment during operation. Like other forms of fatigue, vibrations can initiate a crack which may lead to propogation of the crack and eventual failure of the equipment.
Vibrations are mechanical oscillations transmitted to the human body via direct contact. Vibration is caused by work equipment performing continuous or repetitive movements, such as power-driven tools, mobile appliances or rotating machines.
There is evidence that workers who are exposed to vibration and noise at the same time are more likely to suffer hearing loss than workers exposed to the same level of noise alone. Exposure to both vibration and noise is also understood to increase musculoskeletal problems.
Advocates say that as little as 15 minutes a day of whole-body vibration three times a week may aid weight loss, burn fat, improve flexibility, enhance blood flow, reduce muscle soreness after exercise, build strength and decrease the stress hormone cortisol.
Vibration data can help us identify faults or detect warning signs of potential failures. It can also aid in the detection of misalignment or unbalance of assets such as bearings and rotating pieces of equipment.
Direct vibration damage is caused by vibration energy transmitted to the foundation through direct contact with the bearing soils. Ground vibrations travel most often, in construction, as surface waves. This type of wave decreases in magnitude, or attenuates, with greater distance from the source of the vibrations.
In many cases, however, vibration is undesirable, wasting energy and creating unwanted sound. For example, the vibrational motions of engines, electric motors, or any mechanical device in operation are typically unwanted.
Vibration is bad for electronics. It can damage the boards and components potentially causing permanent failure. But a well-engineered enclosure protects delicate equipment from vibration damage by isolating it from external sources.
There is no evidence of hearing loss caused by only exposure to vibrations. However, vibrations (both HAV and WBV) can be harmful and their magnitude (and accelerations) should be brought below safety limits.
One major way that vibration can impact the environment is with noise pollution. In most cases, excess vibration results in loud noises, which can not only affect the quality of life for residents in the area but can also impact the local wildlife.
Health Effects
Studies have shown that there are direct links between noise and health. Problems related to noise include stress related illnesses, high blood pressure, speech interference, hearing loss, sleep disruption, and lost productivity.
The following precautions help to reduce whole-body vibration exposure: Limit the time spent by workers on a vibrating surface. Mechanically isolate the vibrating source or surface to reduce exposure. Ensure that equipment is well maintained to avoid excessive vibration. Install vibration damping seats.
Typical failures due to shock, vibration and thermal fatigue are cracked capacitors, broken component leads, broken PC board traces, cracked solder joints, PC board delamination, electrical shorts, and plated via barrel-to-pad disconnection.