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architectural  l  broadcast / audio
industrial noise control  l  acoustics

 
SONEX™ Curtain Enclosure Systems

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Prominent Computer Manufacturer Uses SONEX® Wedges
to Create State-of-the-Art Hemi-Anechoic Chamber

"When we first moved into our new building, it sounded more like a football stadium than a manufacturing plant," said Duane Anderson, manager of human resources at Jonco. As a member of the safety committee of the International Association of Die Cutters and Die Makers (IADD), Anderson is helping to revise the IADD safety manual to include noise-reduction methods he learned from the noise evaluation at Jonco.

Jonco Die makes dies for a variety of manufacturing processes, including corrugated materials, folding cartons, plastics, and specialty products. Established in 1965, the family-owned business was comfortably situated in the industrial section of the city until their building was sold to make room for utility improvements.

The new building in a suburban industrial park provides the right size and location, but it was immediately obvious that something had to be done about the noise. The concrete walls, concrete floor and corrugated metal ceiling of the 36,000 square foot space caused severe reverberation and noise levels. "When we stood at one end of the shop floor, our voices went to the other end and bounced back at us," said Anderson. "We couldn't carry on a normal conversation standing two feet away from each other."

Within a few months of moving in, officials at Jonco had consulted with workers compensation insurance representatives and had received an evaluation of plant noise from illbruck, inc. Noise level measurements showed that reverberation levels were as high as 8 seconds, and decibel levels at 95 dBA. OSHA's hearing protection limit is 85 dBA over an 8-hour period.

As a result of the evaluation, Anderson developed three goals for noise reduction at Jonco:

• Reduce reverberation
• Reduce point-of-impact noise caused by pounding on die boards
• Reduce decibel levels to meet OSHA requirements.

Each area of the shop required a specific configuration of SONEX panels, baffles and curtains to meet the three goals.

SONEX® Curtains and Panels help to reduce reverberation on the shop floor

The effect of the curtains, which hang 10 feet from the ceiling, is to absorb reverberation and block sound from transmitting to the Finishing Department, which produces the least amount of noise of all the production areas. Because the curtains do not completely completely separate the production areas, employees can easily see the other areas of the floor.

In addition to SONEX Curtains, SONEXvalueline Panels, installed on the walls, are also made from Class 1 fire-rated willtec and coated with Hypalon® to resist dust and oils. The gray convoluted panels provide superior noise reduction coefficients while enhancing the clean, open look of the floor.

As a result, reverberation on the shop was reduced from 8 seconds to 1.3 seconds. Reverberation is defined as the length of time it takes for sound to decay to 60 decibels after the sound source has stopped (1/1,000,000 of its original sound level). In other words, it used to take 8 seconds for the noise from a machine to decay to 60 decibels. With the addition of SONEX Curtains and Panels, it now takes 1.3 seconds.

Point of impact noise (pounding)

In the Flat Knifing Department, workers pound steel rules into wooden die boards, a noise that contributed both to reverberation and high decibel levels. To reduce point-of-impact noise -- the second goal of the project --- SONEX Baffles are installed above each of the 13 workstations. Hung in groups of four to form a box-like enclosure over each workstation, the 2 x 4-foot baffles absorb sound energy and even help to improve the lighting conditions at each workstation. The baffles surround a single fluorescent light, which directs light onto the workstation below.

Reducing point-of-impact noise was also a goal on the other side of the shop floor, where employees in the Rotary Knifing Department work at metal cylinders, each about 12 feet long. Noise created from pounding the die boards on the cylinders is not unlike that of pounding on a 50 gallon drum. SONEX Panels on the walls, plus SONEX Curtains as partitions, help to reduce some of the reverberation and decibel levels. But there was an even simpler solution. "We just put scrap foam inside the drums to absorb the noise from pounding," said Anderson. This is the only area of the shop where employees still wear ear plugs.

Meeting OSHA requirements

In the Laser Room, where a laser machine burns patterns onto wooden die boards, the machine contributed to an overall noise level of 95 decibels--significantly above OSHA's noise limit. To achieve the third goal -- to meet OSHA requirements -- SONEXcurtain Enclosures, also made from the triple-layer SONEX Curtain Barrier Septum, are installed as walls around the laser machine to absorb and contain noise. The front of the curtain, made like a drop-down hatch, encloses the machine while allowing employees easy access to it between cycles. To absorb excess noise that "escapes" and reverberates in the room, SONEX Panels are installed on the walls in the Laser Room.

Just outside the curtain enclosure of the laser machines, in the Fixtures Department, employees use a variety of powered wood-working tools -- table saws, routers, and jigsaws - to make stripping fixtures and blankets, used to strip away excess material on the wood die boards. Noise is contained and absorbed both by SONEX Panels on the walls and SONEX Curtains above the work area.

In the Laser and Fixtures Departments, other noise control solutions involved relocating some of the noisiest machinery. The compressor was relocated to an adjacent machinery room, and the exhaust system was redirected out of the path of working employees.

As a result of the complete acoustics evaluation and resulting installations, the shop floor no longer sounds like a football stadium, and employees can carry on normal conversations. "Our noise control project required a coordinated and integrated solution," said Anderson. "One solution -- for example, installing only acoustical panels on the walls -- would not have given us the complete effect we needed. We were careful to do everything we could to eliminate discomfort from noise. As a result, we have more than met our expectations, and our new building is a much more comfortable place to work than when we first moved in."

illbruck manufactures a broad range of attractive acoustical ceiling tiles, wall panels, baffles, and other noise control products for commercial and industrial applications, including: SQUARELINE® Metal Ceiling Tiles, HARMONI™ and WHITELINE™ Ceiling Tiles, CONTOUR® Wall and Ceiling Tiles, FABRITEC™ Wall Panels, SONEX® Wall Panels and Baffles, and PROSPEC® Barriers and Composites.

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Memtech Incorporated,
9033 General Drive, Plymouth, MI 48170
Phone: 1-800-634-4471 or +1 (734) 455-8550
Fax:  1-800-634-4472 or +1 (734) 455-8552
Email: salesinfo@memtechacoustical.com