~

UETTERWORTH
I N E M A N N

Vibration isolation of
precision equipment
Eugene I. Rivin
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Wayne State University,
Detroit, MI, USA
Isolation of precision equipment from environmental vibrations frequently is
critical for assuring their adequate performance. In many cases, vibration
isolation is obtained by using expensive and not very reliable active isolation
systems. The paper provides a systematic analysis of vibratory environments as well as principles and criteria of vibration isolation. The results of
this analysis are applied to determine requirements for vibration isolation of
four high-precision pieces of apparatus for electronic production and numerous precision machine tools. It is demonstrated that in most of the cases, the
isolation requirements can be satisfied by properly selected passive isolators
having high damping. It was found that only in exceptional cases, the active
isolation systems are required. Issues of the influence of isolators on the
rigidity of isolated objects as well as on their stability (rocking) are addressed.

Keywords: vibration; isolation; precision; damping

Introduction
Continuous tightening of machining and measuring tolerances for parts of machines and instruments leads to development of ever more accurate
machine tools and measurement apparatus. Magnitudes of the tolerances are expressed in fractions
of micrometers or in nanometers. It has been
widely accepted from the time of World War II that
precision machinery and instruments must be isolated from external vibrations whose amplitudes
may significantly exceed the magnitudes of allowable machining/measurement deviations. To satisfy this obvious need, a wide inventory of passive
vibration isolation mounts was developed and is
commercially available. ~'2 Recently, this inventory
was complemented by actively controlled isolators
that can provide even better vibration protection
and/or maintain a constant level of the device
mounted on soft isolating mounts, regardless of
changes of mass distribution within the machine. 2'3
Improvements in the vibration isolation efficiency can be achieved by using softer isolating
mounts, but the soft mounting causes static and
dynamic instability. Static instability is a change of
Address reprint requests to Eugene L Rivin, Machine Tools Research Laboratory, Wayne State University, 5050 Anthony
Wayne Drive, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.

Precision Engineering 17:41-56, 1995

1995 by Elsevier Science Inc.
655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010

leveling when mass distribution within the isolated

system changes because of addition/subtraction of
components to the system or is caused by movements of massive parts in the system. Dynamic instability is rocking of the isolated system attributable to both external excitations (touching of the
isolated body, air drafts, etc.) and internal excitations (forces caused by acceleration/deceleration of
the moving components). These rocking motions
are undesirable because they may induce displacements in the working zone of the system (e.g.,
cutting area or measurement area), possibly even
exceeding the external vibration-caused displacements from which the system is being isolated.
Both static and dynamic instabilities can be alleviated by the appropriate active (servo-controlled)
systems, but such systems add significantly to the
cost and dimensions of the isolated object. In addition, the addition of complex electronic and/or
pneumatic control systems can result in a reduction of its reliability.
This paper demonstrates that, in many cases,
vibration isolation specifications for high-precision
objects may not be as stringent as usually assumed. The main reason for this is that sensitivity
to external vibrations does not necessarily increase
with increasing accuracy requirements, because
improvements in accuracy of precision machines
and apparatus is usually accompanied by better de-

0141-6359/95/$10.00
SSDI 0141-6359(94)00006-L

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

floor or through the air. Vibration isolators are usually intended to reduce the floor-transmitted vibrations. Floor vibrations are excited by vibratory motions of nearby processing machines, motors,
transformers, etc. (e.g., as the result of fast rotating
unbalanced rotors or chatter vibrations in metal
cutting machine tools), by moving carts, dollies,
cranes, etc.; by shocks from such impact-acting
machines, as forging hammers and presses; from
machines with reversible masses, such as surface
grinders; from accidental impacts during material
handling; or from footsteps on nonrigid floors. For
ultraprecision facilities, microseismic motions of
the ground could be also significant excitations.
The character and levels of floor vibrations depend
not only on the excitation, but also on the filtering
effects of the dynamic system consisting of the soil,
foundations, flooring, and other structural components of the building.
Floor vibrations usually are made up of a multitude of spectral components with randomly varying amplitudes. A statistical study of an ensemble
of floor vibrations measured at various locations
on a plant floor showed these floor vibrations constitute a nonstationary and nonergodic random
process. Application of exact theories for such vibrations is very difficult. This is frequently neglected during floor vibration surveys, which are
routinely performed by suppliers of vibration isolators or by in-house and outside consultants. Use
of Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) analyzers in such
conditions can give distorted results and smear the
important difference between steady or quasisteady vibrations (when amplitude of a harmonic
is not changing significantly during 5-10 periods of

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Figure 1

Maximum amplitudes of quasisteady

shop floor vibrations (broken lines--envelopes of
Soviet measurements; solid lines--assumed
boundaries; different symbols pertain to different
U.S. sites). A--vertical vibrations; B--horizontal vibrations

\
/

\
1

3O

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signs. Also, the quality of vibration isolation often

can be decoupled from the issues of static and/or
dynamic stability by a proper understanding of
how the external vibrations influence the object
performance and also by a better understanding of
the dynamics of the vibration isolation system.
These statements are illustrated by deriving vibration isolation requirements for several types of precision equipment.

Ambient vibrations
Ambient vibrations affecting precision processing/
measuring equipment can be transmitted from the
42

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8

6
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I ~ l s ! Ourallon t, sec

0.1

0.05

025

)OI25

f = 1/% Hz

10

20

40

80

Figure 2

Envelopes of maximum amplitudes of

machine shop floor transient vibrations caused by
shocks or impacts: 1--vertical vibrations, 2--horizontal vibrations
JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

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Figure

BBN floor vibration criteria (VC) for precision equipment installation

vibratory motion) and transient vibrations with fast

changing amplitudes. Figure I shows the results of
an extensive study summarized in Reference 4 of
quasisteady floor vibrations at the various manufacturing plants in the former Soviet Union in the
1960s. The data were collected from time domain
vibration plots (oscillogramms); maximum amplitudes were recorded of vibratory processes that
were reasonably stable for 5-10 cycles of the principal harmonic. The broken lines are envelopes of
points representing absolute maxima at various
frequencies; the solid lines are the assumed
boundaries of the spectra used in analytical derivations. These lines represent vibrations at the
ground floors (solid foundation slabs). On upper
floors made of thin, prestressed concrete slabs, the
amplitudes tend to be 1.5-3.0 times higher, and the
c o r r e s p o n d i n g f r e q u e n c y ranges tend to be
broader.
Dots on the plots in Figure 1 represent recent
measurements at U.S. manufacturing plants ( + for
data from Ref. 5; 0 for data from Ref. 6, site near the
stamping shop). These data were obtained using
FFT analyzers, presumably using w i n d o w s prescribed for steady-state processes. Thus, the amplitudes for the lower end of the frequency spectrum seem exaggerated. These low-frequency
amplitudes are comparable to amplitudes of transient vibrations of the floor as measured in Ref. 4
and are shown in Figure 2.
However, the most interesting midrange of the
spectrum (10-30 Hz) shows that the old Soviet data
give a conservative upper limit of floor vibrations at
the U.S. manufacturing sites equipped with more
powerful and faster modern machinery. The main
difference is in the upper frequency limit of relaPRECISION ENGINEERING

tively intense vibrations, which is much lower for

the recent tests at the U.S. sites ( - 2 0 Hz) than for
the old Soviet tests (30-40 Hz). A possible explanation can be as follows: designs of more powerful
and fast machinery are more refined, resulting in
lower vibration levels. Another reason is the widespread use of thin but strong (prestressed) concrete slabs for the foundation structures in the
former Soviet Union.
Another important observation, based not only
on data in References 5 and 6, but also on numerous personal conversations, is the fact that the
floor vibration surveys are usually concerned only
with vertical vibrations, w h i l e most precision
equipment is more sensitive to horizontal vibrations. If the Soviet data in Figure 1B could be extrapolated to the U.S. sites, maximum amplitudes
of horizontal vibrations are 25-30% lower than
maximum amplitudes of vertical vibrations, and
their frequency range is about 30% narrower (upper frequency of high-amplitudes frequency range
is 20-30 Hz vs. 30-40 Hz for vertical vibrations).
The intensity of floor vibrations in precision
microelectronics manufacturing facilities is much
lower. Vibration spectra of vertical vibrations for
three typical clean room floors in Ref. 7 indicate
maximum levels of vibratory velocity (60-200 i~in./
s) are in 10-60 Hz range, with the corresponding
displacement amplitudes not exceeding 2 i~in. (0.05
~m). Figure 3 shows the generic vibration criterion
(VC) curves developed by BBN Company, which
are frequently used for specifications of vibration
levels for newly constructed precision facilities. 7
These curves are formulated in terms of vibratory
velocity; for the least stringent VC-A, the criterion
corresponds to displacement amplitude 4 i~m at 4
43

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

lq

in machined surfaces, changes in dimensions of

automatically machined parts, or misalignments in
optical systems. Vibration-caused " j u m p s " at joints
of mounting systems (e.g., wedges, jack-screws)
may lead to deformations in the machine bed,
which in turn, may result in chatter, reduced accuracy, and increased wear.
Floor vibrations may also induce relative motions between the cutting or measuring tool and
the workpiece. Such motions may cause waviness
of the machined surface, out-of-roundness, or deterioration in surface finish (especially for turning
machines, where the waviness during successive
revolutions is phase-shifted). Impulsive vibrations
can lead to local variations in the depth of cut,
which result in dents on the machined surfaces.
Vibrations in the measuring zone, between the
probe or the light source and the measured sur-

200
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f llllll

30 50
100 200 300
Frequency,
Hz

Figure 4 Vibration sensitivity curves for Projection Aligner Perkin-Elmer Microlign Mod. 341 resulting in 0.1 i~m image motion; solid linc vertical
floor vibrations; broken line horizontal floor vibrations 7,12
Hz, 1 I.cm at 8 Hz, and 0.2 i~m at 40 Hz. For the most
stringent criterion VC-E, the respective amplitudes
are 0.25 i~m, 0.063 ~m, and 0.0125 I~m. The designer's selection of a particular VC and/or isolation
system specifications will make a major impact on
the overall cost of the facility.

Detrimental effects of floor vibrations on

precision equipment
There are several ways in which floor vibrations
can disrupt operation of precision equipment. One
of the most important is their tendency to destabilize the dimensional set-up chain. Because of inevitable friction, the elements of such chains (e.g.,
guides, screws, arms, clamps) are fastened in elastically strained conditions. Vibrations lead to oscillations of the joint contact pressure and thus to
frictional force variations, leading to relaxation of
the elastic strains and to possible " j u m p s " in the
dimensional chain. Such jumps may produce steps
44

VERTICAL

.
. . . . .

HORIZONTAL

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FREQUENCY. HZ

Figure 5 Vibration sensitivity curves for Mann

Wafer Stepper 4800 DSW ?

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6 Vibration sensitivity curves for Philips

Electron Beam Pattern Generator B e a m w r i t e r
EBPG-47
JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

100

.1100. 000

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Vibration sensitivity curves for 1000 x Optical Microscope for detectable motion on 1-1xm test

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d - - ~

X(el z

--l'B1

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YXlz
Figure 9 Dynamic model illustrating influence of
design parameters on relative vibrations between
upper unit and bed of a machine
Figure 8
T w o - m a s s dynamic model simulating vibration sensitivity of a precision machine in one
principal direction

face, blur the measurement results and effectively

reduce resolution of the measuring instrument.
Model

of vibration

transmission

Floor vibrations are detrimental to the performance

of precision equipment because they excite relative
vibrations in the working (cutting)/measurement
zone or in the joints comprising the dimensional
set-up chain. Tests have shown that the effects of
floor vibrations on a machine tool usually are significant only at the lowest (seldom also at the secPRECISION ENGINEERING

ond) natural frequency of the dynamic system,

largely because the higher natural frequencies lie
considerably above the frequency range of significant excitation amplitudes. For example, the first
natural frequency for grinders typically occurs between 30 and 70 Hz, whereas the second natural
frequency lies between 100 and 150 Hz.
Figures 4-7, taken from References 7 and 8,
show vibration sensitivity curves for precision
equipment used in the production of electronic microcircuitry. The minima on these plots represent
structural natural frequencies of the devices. It can
be seen that the lowest natural frequencies are between 4 and 20 Hz, and many of the higher natural
frequencies lie between 30 and 70 Hz; that is, in the
45

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

Table

Parameters for the design of vibration isolation systems for selected machine tools

7 xy

7 zz

Internal

Jotes SOC-100 ( M = 1750 kg,

Oma x = 100 mm)
Jung ( M = 2500 kg, Dm.x = 175
mm)
Heald 72A ( M = 2400 kg,
Dr, ax = 115 mm)

%,x

fm (Hz)

0.043

0.85

0.25

0.32

--

70

--

0.48

0.65

0.28

--

--

70

--

--

0.48

0.4

0.18

0.45

60

Grinders

--

--

0.25

0.25

50

--

--

0.32

0.1

45

--

--

0.2

0.002

4O

0.26

--

1.5

0.45

--

--

0.021

0.009

6O

0.12

--

0.35

0.08

80

0.1
0.04

---

0.6
0.12

0.17
0.18

40
50

--

0.43

--

- -

- -

0.28
Gear

0,12

Maag HSS-30
5831 ( M = 4500 kg, mma x = 6
mm)
5 8 4 M ( M = 6000 kg, mm.x = 6
mm)

--

2B440

0,13

57

--

0.65

60
50

0.45

0.11

28

3.5

0.21

70

--

32

--

45

0.6

--

35

0.39

1.55

45

Grinders

--

0.45

0.55

0.64

- -

0.083

0.11

0.95

- -

0 . 0 2 4

- -

0.25

Grinders

0.52

- -

100

Grinders

Surface

371M1 ( M = 1900 kg, Table

200 x 600 mm)
Jung
3B71 ( M = 200 kg, Table 200 x
600 mm)
3B722 ( M = 6800 kg, Table
320 x 1000 mm)

"Yx y

0.025

Spline

3451G ( M = 6500 kg,

Dmax = 125 mm)

7 yz

Grinders

Circular

Landis ( M = 5100 kg,

O m a x = 410 mm
Jotes SWA-25 ( M = 3500 kg,
Omax = 250 m m
Fortuna ( M = 3800 kg,
Dm. = 225 mm
Mipsa RUS-450 ( M = 2000 kg,
O m a x = 240 m m
Mipsa ( 1 9 4 8 ) ( M = 2000 kg,
Dmax = 240 mm
Hartex KH620 (M = 2100 kg,
Dmax = 310 mm
3A151 ( M = 3800 kg,
Dmax = 200 mm
3151

7 yy

--

0.66

Jig Borers

Diamond

2A715 (M = 2600 kg,

Dmax = 200 mm)
2706 ( M = 2600 kg, Dma x = 200
mm)

0,39
Boring

46

0.52

Machines

0.044

0.044

1.7

1.7

90

0.23

0.23

0.95

0.95

100

Universal

Union ( M = 3600 kg,

D s p i n d l e = 6 0 mm)

0,29

0.15

- -

Grinders

0.14

0.045

--

40

J A N U A R Y 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

~o (~m)

~z (Hz)

~ y (Hz)

(t)x (Hz)

fw (Hz)

fv~

fvp (Hz)

0.16

45.5

11.5

18.3

32.3

0.4

0.25

32.3

0.5

25

23.8

--

17.6

--

0.95

15

0.16

--

12.9

12.5

0.16

--

14.8

47.3

0.16

--

12.0

21.3

0,16

--

13.4

13.4

0.16

26.5

11.2

21.3

18.7

0.8

0.42

16.3

0.16

--

41.3

62.6

0,16

31.5

19.4

41

22.3

1.3

0.61

18.5

0,32
0,32

24.2
48

10.4
28.9

19.5
23.6

17.2
34.0

0.8
0.49

0.43
0.6

12.8
32.4

0,64

23.6

33

49.7

16.6

2.1

1.4

14.4

0.64
0.32

22.6

- -

- -

0.32

34.6

0.32
0.5

11

- -

14.1

0.49

0.24

17.9

18.0

1.2

0.3

15.5

16.0

0.49

0.54

11

0.39

0.37

16.7

12.3

0.53

0.28

10.4

30.3

--

0.17

30.1

20

--

0.51

17.1

19.7

1.9

1.1

21

1 6 . 0

- -

13.3

8.4

17

24.5

25.4

7.7

30.7

22.7

12.3

11.1

16.5

12.1

12.9

23.2

9.3

0.5
0.64

33

0.5

17.3

4.9

0.08

43

7.4

0.16

28.4

14.4

0.64

28

30.7

PRECISION ENGINEERING

52.3

47

Rivin: Vibration isolation o f precision e q u i p m e n t

Table 1

(Continued)

~xy

"/yy

"/y~

"Yxy

"Y~

fm (Hz)

Lathes
1K62 (M = 2300 kg, Dmax = 400
mm)
Gustloff A5 (Dmax = 400 mm)
TC-135M (M = 1100 kg,
Dmax = 270 mm)

0.27
0.18

---

0.29
0.6

---

---

---

75
70

0.2

--

0.13

--

--

--

80

KEY:
~/i/

-- Xrel/Xrel g
xrer--actual relative d i s p l a c e m e n t in w o r k area

Xre~Q--generalized relative displacement

--displacement of upper mass Mu relative to base mass M8 in equivalen 2 - mass system (Figure 8)
i,j--x, y, z
/--coordinate direction of motion of bed
j--coordinate direction of motion of upper structure
f,,--resonance frequency of upper system (Mu - K m - Mb, Figure 7)
Ao--maximum relative displacement allowed in work area
,---maximum acceptable value of fv~~v,. (vibration isolation criterion)
fv,---resonance frequency of mounted (isolated) system for motion in i direction
5v,---logarithmic decrement associated with above
fvp--maximum resonance frequency of vertical (z-direction) motion of isolated system for adequate vertical isolation of pulse (shock)
motions (value of fvp shown in lowest of the two calculated for pulses with ar - 50 t~m, r - 0.05 s and at - 30 t~m, r = 0.025 s)
M--total mass of machine
Dmax--greatest overall dimension
mmax--maximum module of machined gear (m - 25.40/DP mm where DP--dimetrical pitch of gear)
frequency range of the reduced floor amplitudes
(see Figure 1). For the cases shown in Figures 5 a n d
6, the increase in the sensitivity to floor vibration at
the second natural frequency is much less steep
than the reduction in amplitudes of floor vibrations
as shown in Figure 1. For the cases shown in Figures 4 and 7, the increases in vibration sensitivity
are about the same as the reduction in floor vibration amplitudes at the corresponding frequencies
or higher. However, floor vibrations at the higher
frequencies usually undergo much higher attenuation by vibration isolation systems.
A p p r o x i m a t e dynamics of vibration transmission from the floor into the working zone of a pre-

f21f2m

Xrel g

Xb

- %/[1

- (f2/f2n,)]2 + [Mb/(Mu + Mb)] (8~f2Hr2f2n,) - I~(f)

cision equipment unit can be represented by three

uncoupled two-mass systems (with generalized parameters), such as the one in Figure 8, one for each
coordinate direction of the floor vibrations. Masses
and springs in the model in Figure 8 represent generalized inertias and stiffnesses of the unit, and
their values are usually different for each coordinate direction.
48

In Figure 8, M b represents mass of the bed of

the machine; M u is the mass of its upper structure
(e.g., tool head or measuring head); kr,, and Cr,, represent equivalent stiffness and d a m p i n g of the
structural components and joints; and k~, Cv are the
stiffness and damping of the mounting devices
(e.g., jacks or isolators).
The effect of vibrations on an equipment unit
represented by such a two-mass model may be investigated in terms of the ratio of the generalized
relative displacement a m p l i t u d e X r e I g between
masses Mu and M b to the displacement amplitude
X b of the bed M b. This ratio is given by the following:

(1)

where f represents frequency of interest, fr,, = 1/2~

V k m / M u is the (partial) resonance frequency of the
upper structure and 8n~ is the log-decrement of that
system.
The actual relative displacement in the working
area of the equipment unit is proportional to Xre ~g
X r e I = '~/Xre I g

(2)
J A N U A R Y 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation o f precision e q u i p m e n t

Ao (~m)

~z (Hz)

(t)y (Hz)

0.64
0.64

39
44.5

39
25.8

0.32

34.2

44.5

~x (Hz)

and the proportionality constant ~/ (design constant) depends on the geometry of the machine.
For example, for an upper structure that can be
represented by the model shown in Figure 9
"yzx = Mublc/Iol = blc/(py 2 + b 2 + c 2)
~zz = MuCd/Iol = cd/(py 2 + b 2 + c 2)

(3)

where the first subscript on -y refers to direction of

the bed vibration, and the second subscript refers
to direction of motion of the upper structure relative to the bed. Here M u denotes the mass of the
upper structure; /01 its mass moment of inertia
about the actual axis of rotation, and py is the radius
of gyration about the principal y-axis. The dimensions b, bl, c, and d, as indicated in Figure 9, are
measured from the center of gravity 01 of the system. Obviously, ~/depends upon how the machine
is set up, and particularly on the position of the
upper structure with respect to the bed. In the case
of Figure 9, the upper structure is connected to the
bed by a spring allowing only angular deformation
and having infinite vertical stiffness. This is a good
approximation for structural designs of numerous
machine tools and measuring systems, because
guideways usually have very high translational
stiffness perpendicular to the motion direction, but
their angular deformations may have significant
magnitude. Sensitivity of horizontal displacements
in the work zone of such a model to vertical vibrations of the bed (~/zx) can be reduced by reducing
structural (design) dimensions c and bl by reducing overhang or by adding counterweights to the
back side of the machine. Sensitivity of vertical displacements in the work zone to vertical vibrations
of the bed (~/zz) can be reduced by reducing structural (design) dimensions c and d.
Experimentally obtained data for several machine tools (excerpted from Ref. 4) are given in Table 1, from which we may conclude that the vibration sensitivity of such machines can be reduced by
proper selection of design parameters, because
similar machines have very different sensitivities to
vibrations of their beds. It can be seen, for example,
that in the group of cylindrical grinders ~w varies
from 0.021 (negligible) to 0.6 (very significant).
The generalized amplitude ratio Xre I g/X b = ~(f)
(Equation 1), which is a measure of the vibration
PRECISION ENGINEERING

fw (Hz)

f-~

fvz

fvp (Hz)

22.5
31.4

---

1.0
0.58

29.5
31.3

24.1

--

1.3

26.4

sensitivity of the machine as a function of frequency f, does not depend upon the machine's
mounting, but only on its design (structural natural
frequency fm and masses Mb, Mu). To obtain a ratio
between amplitudes of the relative vibrations
within the workzone of the machine and amplitudes of the floor vibrations, Xre~/X b should be multiplied by the ratio of the bed vibration amplitudes
to the floor vibration amplitudes, assuming that the
dynamic coupling between the machine structure
and the vibration isolation system is weak, and
these systems can be considered as independent
ones. 9 A justification of this assumption is that in
most practical cases, natural frequencies of the isolated bed in the three coordinate directions fvx, fvy,
and fvz are considerably lower than the structural
natural frequencies fm (see Table I), and the mass
of the bed M b is usually much larger than the mass
of the upper structure M u.

Principles and criteria of vibration isolation

Principles and criteria of vibration isolation of highprecision equipment can be considered for three
typical cases. The first case deals with protection of
a specific unit of equipment from specific steadystate vibrations of the floor. Because the steadystate vibrations can be represented by a discrete
spectrum, this case is essentially a case of isolation
of the unit of equipment from sinusoidal vibrations
of the floor. The second case represents protection
of a specific unit of equipment from any combination of typical quasisteady-state floor vibrations
within the envelope represented in Figure I. Although the plots in Figure 1 present a frequency
range of vibrations, at a particular site only some
spectral components may have amplitudes as high
as the plot indicates. If a vibration isolation system
protecting the unit of equipment from any realization of the floor vibration spectra represented by
plots in Figures 1A and B is to be developed, then
the unit can be equipped with isolating mounts that
would ensure its specified performance for the majority of installation sites. The third case deals with
protection of equipment from transient motions of
the floor caused by regular or accidental shock excitations.
In the first case, illustrated by Figure 10, the
degree of attenuation i~v of one frequency compo49

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

3.0

E
o

>.x
.-~

2.0

E -

to --

l.o

!
i,o

.
2.0.

3.0

4,0

I/I v

c3

|I

f2

Figure 10 Principles of vibration isolation from

single-frequency floor excitation
nent f of floor vibrations by the vibration isolation
system (system: "bed-isolating mounts")is determined by the frequency ratio f/fv where

1
f v - 2~r

~/MkV

Thus, from the two sine waves at frequencies

fl and f2 having the same magnitudes, the sine
wave having frequency fl is attenuated less than
the sine wave having higher frequency f2 (and,
thus, higher ratio f2/fv), see Figure 10. When there is
viscous damping in the isolators, increasing the
damping (which reduces the resonance peak; i.e.,
sensitivity to low-amplitude "background noise"
and improves stability of the unit from accidental
impacts and during start/stop regimes) leads to deterioration of isolation at higher frequencies in accordance with Equation (4). In case of structural
damping, increasing damping would lead to only
marginal deterioration of isolation while playing
the aforementioned positive roles, in accordance
with Equation (5).
For the second case the principles involved in
isolation of a precision machine against floor vibrations are illustrated in Figure 11. The bottom-most
graph here shows the spectrum of floor displacement amplitudes Xf in a given direction. This graph
is a streamlined envelope of the plots in Figure 1
for the considered direction. The top-most graph
shows the corresponding relative motion in the
machine's work area, with &o representing the limit
of acceptability of such motions. For precision machine tools and, to a lesser degree, for precision
measuring equipment and precision processing
equipment for electronics production, the dynamic
coupling between the machine structure and the
vibration isolation system is relatively weak (see
above). Consequently, the approximate relative
Isolalors w i l h V i s c o u s D a m p i n g

Isolators

wilh Material

ilnternal

Damping

Friction)

I AA
~5

b + Mu

is the natural frequency of the vibration isolation

system in the considered direction. It is expressed
as follows:

t
fv2

fvl

fm

fv2

fvl

fm

-f

_f

fm

fm

E
o x

for not very high viscous damping in the isolators

(e.g., isolators with oil dampers), or as follows:

1-

/,

~"

fv2

o~.
o ~
u-o

i,,
fv 1

fv2

x I

for isolators having not very high structural or hysteretic d a m p i n g (typical for e l a s t o m e r i c isolators). 1 Here gv is log-decrement of the isolators.
50

fv 1

,f

Figure 11 Principles of vibration isolation from

broad spectrum quasisteady-state floor excitation
JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

motion graph can be obtained simply by multiplying the Xr~/X ~ X~/X~ and Xf graphs, and the vibration isolation criterion can be expressed as follows
Xb

Xrel

Xb

ao X--~ X--b- < ~o, or ao ~ I~(f) < Ao

(6)

The solid lines in Figure 11 correspond to a stiff

mounting system under the machine, the dashed
lines to a softer isolation system with the same
damping as the stiffer system, and the dotted lines
to a softer isolation system with increased damping. The set of graphs in the left half of Figure 11
pertains to viscous damping in the isolators, for
which greater damping results in greater vibration
transmission at frequencies above V2fv; the graphs
on the right side pertain to hysteretic damping in
the isolators, which affects the response at high
frequencies only insignificantly. 1 It is clear that relative vibrations in the work area are reduced by use
of a softer mounting with greater damping. It is
important to note, that a resonance on vibration
isolators is allowable, and the isolators must be selected in such a manner that amplitude of relative
vibrations Xre j at the resonance of the vibration isolation system does not exceed the specified allowable level Ao. Accordingly, improvements in isolation can be a c h i e v e d by r e d u c i n g fv or by
increasing damping 5v. While relative displacements Xre I at the structural natural frequency fm are
increasing with the increasing damping in isolators, diminishing amplitudes of floor vibrations at
higher frequencies together with noted above features of the transmissibility curve for the isolation
system with hysteretic damping make the resonance at fm a less dangerous one than at f~.
Use of generalized spectrum of floor vibrations, as in Figure 11, is a more conservative approach than using actual vibration measurements
at the installation site. The latter can change after
relocation of old and installation of new equipment, whereas the spectrum assumed in Figure 11
represents the worst case based on multiple measurements given in Figure I.
The concept of isolation presented in Figure 11
can be expressed analytically. 12 If dynamic coupling between the vibration isolation system and
the machine structure is neglected, then the relative vibrations in the working zone are as following:

Xrel(f)

= X f ~ Xb(~X , = constXrel(~Xb - const

(7)
Substituting Equation (5) for Xb(f)x, _ coast in
Equation (7) yields the following:
Xb(f~x,=

const ~---I'~v =
2
(8)

[1 -- (~v1212 4- (--~1 2
PRECISION ENGINEERING

Substituting into Equation (7) Equations (1) and (2)

for Xrel(f)Xb=const gives the following:

Xrel(f)
Xb

f2/f2m

=3'/(

f2~2
1- -~

Mb ,2f2

- 3'f

+ Mu + Mb ~r212

(9)
Relative vibrations in the workzone can be computed and compared with the allowable amplitude
Ao if all the parameters in Equation (7) are known.
In Equation (9) 3'f is the transmissibility from the
bed into the workzone at frequency f. It is obvious
that if f ~ fm and fl <~ f ~ then 3'f, = 3'f(f12/f2). Because usually 5v ~ ~T; 5n~ ~ ~T; fv ~ f ~ then at the
resonance frequency fv of the vibration isolation
system:

Xrel(f v) ~ Xf (IT/~v) 3"f;

(10)
The structural dynamic characteristic of the
machine is determined by 3'f, which is determined
at one frequency f f o r which f < fro" Then, because
it is also assumed that fv < fr~ the transmissibility
3'fv can be expressed as follows:
3"fv 3"f (fv 2IF)
(11)
Substituting Equation (11)into Equation (10), relative vibration amplitude in the work zone at fv (the
most dangerous case) is expressed as follows:
Xrel(f v) = X f (IT/~v)3"f (fv2/f2).
(10')
If the allowable relative vibration amplitude A o
in the work zone is given, then the vibration isolation is effective if

Xrel (fv) < ~o,

This can be reformulated as inequality
~2 = fv2/Sv < &o f~/ITXf3"f
where

@_

fv

+ M,

(12)
(13)

(14)

is the vibration isolation criterion for precision machinery. The criterion @ should be used instead of
the natural frequency. It indicates that improvement in isolation can be achieved either by reducing the natural frequency fv or by increasing the
isolation damping ~. Such criteria can be specified
for each coordinate direction of the isolation system.
This criterion also allows us to make a meaningful selection of resilient materials for vibration
isolators. Both stiffness and damping of such materials usually depend upon amplitude a and frequency f of vibrations. 11 The stiffness can be expressed as follows:

k = Kdyn(a,f) kst
(15)
where kst is the static stiffness of the isolator; and
Kdyn is the dynamic stiffness coefficient. Substitu51

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

Table 2 Material selection criterion versus intensity of floor vibrations

Kdyn/5 @

vibration
amplitude, i~m
Rubber type

Rubber
durometer

25

100

Natural

41
56
61
75

4.6
5.4
5.9
5.0

4.3
4.2
4.4
3.8

2.6
3.0
3.0
2.2

Neoprene

42
58
74
78

4.6
3.75
3.1
5.8

3.85
3.3
2.0
2.65

3.0
2.5
1.6
1.85

26% nitrile

42
56
69

4.0
3.1
2.9

3.6
2.9
2.2

3.3
2.5
1.95

40% nitrile

50
80

3.1
2.6

3.0
2.3

2.05
1.85

15.0

7.0

4.0

9.5
4.8

1.5
1.5
2.9

Felt " u n i s o r b "

Wire mesh isolators "Vibrachok"

Isolator type Load, N
V439-0
400
30
1,150
45
W246-0

870
1,150

13
23

4.5
11.2

W246-5

2,300

27

4.1

1.55

tion of Equation (15) into Equation (14) yields the

following:

dp = ~ M b ks,
+ Mo

.K~yn(a,f)

116)

It is clear from Equation (16) that the static stiffness k= of isolators for a given can be increased
(thus improving the stability of the isolated machine) by reducing Kdyn/6v. Because both Kdy n and
5v depend upon frequency and, especially, amplitude of vibrations, their ratio is different for different materials and for different vibration parameters. Table2 gives measured values of this ratio for
some materials depending on vibration amplitudes. ~1 It can be seen that for low vibration amplitudes (6 i~m) some blends of nitrile rubber are the
best, whereas for high amplitudes (100 I~m) wire
mesh-based isolators have superior properties.
Table 1 lists acceptable values of for the
three coordinate directions for several machine
tools, together with the corresponding permissible
relative amplitudes &o, the values of which were
chosen to correspond to one-half of the specified
52

precision of the part being machined. Floor vibration levels as presented in Figure 1 (limiting lines)
were used in computing dp. Values of the natural
frequency ratios fvx/fv~ fvy/fvz can be used to determine the required stiffness ratios of isolators in directions x, y, z as it is described in Reference 9. Data
in Table I were validated by successful installation
of many thousands of machine tools of those listed
and other similar models in accordance with the
recommendations from Table 1.
If vibration sensitivity ~(f) of a precision object
is known (for example from the plots shown in Figures 4-7), then Equation (13) can be used for specifying vibration isolation parameters. For the case
of Figure 4, Ao = 0.1 i~m is specified. Assuming &o
= 0.1 t~m also for the cases in Figures 5, 6, and 7,
Equation (13) can be used to find the required parameters of isolation mounts for the respective
units.
Table 3 gives the values of ~/(f) calculated for
critical points from the plots in Figure 4 for vertical
and horizontal directions, respectively. The table
also contains values of ~1 calculated for these
points using Equation (13) and assuming that for
vertical direction X~(f) = const = 3.0 i~m for frequencies 3-30 Hz and Xt(f) = 3.0 30/f i~m for frequencies f > 30 Hz; for the horizontal direction X~(f)
= const = 2.5 i~m for frequencies 2-20 Hz, and X~(f)
= 2.5 20/f #m for frequencies f > 20 Hz. It also
contains values of ~2 calculated using floor vibration levels corresponding to line VC-B in Figure 3
(both for vertical and horizontal directions).
It can be seen from Table 3A that the lowest
value of ~1 for vertical vibrations is 4.51 Hz. If vibration isolators with medium damping Sv = 0.6
are used, then from Equation (14), the_rrequired vertical natural frequency fv = 4.51 V0.6 = 3.04 Hz.
However, if isolators made of rubber with high
damping 5v = 1.2 are used (e.g., see Ref. 9), then fv
= 5.0 Hz, which can be realized by passive isolators. Much stiffer isolators can be used to comply
with values of ~2, which represent floor conditions
at the microelectronics industry installations.
A similar situation is seen in Table 3B; however, realization of natural frequencies corresponding to ~Pl (4.7 Hz for 5v = 0.6, 6.63 Hz for ~v = 1.2)
in horizontal directions with passive isolators does
not present any problem9; even much lower values
can be easily realized. Use of ~2 gives even more
lattitude in selecting isolator parameters.
Table 4 lists similar data for the case given in
Figure 5. In this case, the same assumptions are
made about X~(f) for computing both dP1 and ~2.
The minimum required ~ for the vertical direction
is 4.9 Hz, which corresponds to fv = 3.8 Hz for medium-damped isolators (5v = 0.6) and fv = 5.4 Hz
for highly damped isolators (~v = 1.2). The latter
value of fv in the vertical direction can be realized
by using passive isolators; it can be 30% higher for
realization of ~2.
The corresponding numbers for the horizontal
JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

Table 3

Vibration isolation criterion for case of Figure 4

Ve~ical direction (Y-axis)

Hz

11

12

20

25

30

32

41

70

80

~(~
~, Hz
~2, Hz

0.0083
4.51
12.9

0.010
12.3
36.6

0.087
7.0
26.9

0.0091
26.9
116

0.056
13.0
61

0.303
6.3
29.7

0.05
22.5
106

0.0077
128
601

0.010
137
644

Hz
~(~
~1, Hz

95
0.588
19.7

100
0.294
30.0

110
0.057
78.7

140
0.455
40.0

150
0.222
63.6

160
0.2
73.4

220
1.28
46.8

250
0.77
73.3

Horizontal direction (X-axis)

Hz

~(~
1, Hz
~2, Hz

12

22

65

70

100

140

210

0.0033
13.7
23.1

0.05
6.05
37.5

0.0125
22.3
78

0.071
49.6
174

0.090
49.2
172

0.090
84
294

0.056
176
616

1.25
68.6
240

Values (~ are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure 1.

Values ~2 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure 3 (VC-B).

Table 4

Vibration isolation criterion for case of

Table 5

Figure 5

Figure 6

Verticaldirection(~axis)
Hz

-y(f)
(t)l, Hz
(t)2, Hz
B

~(~
~1, Hz
~2, Hz

Verticaldirection ( ~ a x i s )

7.5

35

45

100

~ Hz

30

80

0.011
4.9
6.7

0.0043
11.8
24.6

0.015
32.4
152

0.25
11.6
55

0.56
25.6
120

~(f)
~1, Hz
~2, Hz

0.48
0.8
1.2

0.83
0.9
2.2

1.0
3.08
14.5

5.0
6.13
28.8

~3, Hz
3.4
6.2
B Horizontal direction (X-axis)

41

81.5

f, Hz

30

80

~(f)
~1, Hz
([{)2, Hz
~3, Hz

0.31
1.01
1.4
4.0

0.83
0.99
2.2
6.2

1.0
3.38
14.5
41

5.0
6.6
28.2
79.8

Horizontal direction (X-axis)

Hz

Vibration isolation criterion for case of

4
0.05
2.02
2.3

6.5
0.033
4.03
6.2

10
0.0043
17.2
43

45
0.1
24.1
84

100
0.5
35.6
125

Values ~1 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure 1.

Values ~2 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure
3 (VC-B).

direction (~1 = 2.02 Hz, fv = 1.6 Hz for 5v = 0.6, fv

= 2.2 Hz for 5v = 1.2; ~2 = 2.3 Hz) are also realizable.
For the cases represented in Figures 6 and 7,
calculations of ~(f) for critical points requires using
vibratory velocity of relative motion in the workzone instead of A o. Calculations for Figure 6 were
performed for the lowest lines (boundary of the
safe region). The results, shown in Table 5, indicate
that for frequencies above 5 Hz, the required ~1 is
as low as 0.8 Hz for the vertical direction (which
PRECISION ENGINEERING

Values (~1 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure I.
Values (I)2 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure
2 (VC-B).
Values (t)3 are calculated using floor vibration levels from Figure
3 (VC-E).

corresponds to fv = 0.62 Hz for 5v = 0.6 and fv =

0.88 for 5v = 1.2). These values cannot be economically realized by a passive vibration isolation system because it w o u l d require an excessively massive inertia block, and an active p n e u m a t i c or
electronic system with a levelling feature is called
for. Because units of such precision are usually in53

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

Table 6

Vibration isolation criterion for case of

Figure 7
A

Vertical direction

f, Hz

18

22.5

30

43.5

52

-/(f)
~, Hz
~2, Hz

0.14
5.0
18.4

0.18
5.6
22.7

0.71
3.7
17.6

0.61
7.0
33

2.7
4.4
20.5

Fore/aft direction

f, Hz

20

30

41.5

54

66

"y(f)
(I)1, Hz
~2, Hz

0.5
3.2
11.2

0.31
7.4
26

0.35
11.4
40

0.54
13.6
48

0.87
14.5
51

27.5

35

39

1.4
3.1
10.7

0.49
7.4
26.1

4.0
3.1
10.7

Side/side direction

f, Hz
"f(f)
~1, Hz
~2, Hz

12.5
O.16
3.5
9.8

22
0.93
2.6
9.0

Values (t)l are calculated using f l o o r v i b r a t i o n levels f r o m Figure I.

V a l u e s O2 are c a l c u l a t e d u s i n g f l o o r v i b r a t i o n levels f r o m Figure

3 (VC-B).
stalled in special facilities, isolation criteria in this
case were also calculated for two classes of precision facilities specified in Figure 3: VC-B ((I)2) and
the most stringent VC-E ((I)3). It can be seen that in
the last case the use of passive isolators (fv = 3.75
Hz at 6v = 1.2) is marginally feasible.
Table 6 lists vibration isolation data for the
case of Figure 7 assuming relative displacement in
the work zone of 0.1 ~m. The minimum required (I)1
for vertical direction is 3.7 Hz, which corresponds to
fv -- 2.9 Hz for medium-damped isolators; 6v = 0.6,
and fv = 4.1 Hz for 6v = 1.2. For horizontal directions ])lmin. = 2.57, and fv = 2 Hz for 6v = 0.6, fv =
2.8 for 6v = 1.2. The natural frequencies for high
damping are realizable with passive isolators. The
minimum value of ~2 for the vertical direction is
18.4, which allows us to use commercially available
isolators for industrial machinery.
Thus, only one of the analyzed high-precision
instruments actually requires an active vibration
isolation system for protection from the typical
spectrum of industrial steady floor vibrations. However, such ultraprecision units are never used in the
general industrial buildings. Accordingly, much
stiffer passive isolators could be used in all considered cases, and passive isolators could be used for
the case given in Figure 6 and Table 5 if the equipment were located in the building complying with a
vibration criterion VC-E. Realization of this criterion
by civil engineering means is feasible as was
shown in Reference 7.
54

The third case of vibration isolation involves

isolation from short duration (impulsive or shock)
motions of the floor. Such excitations tend to be
less troublesome, because of their short durations.
Accordingly, we may take the permissible peak relative displacement bop in response to floor shocks
as 3 times the value of 4o permissible for steady
vibrations. We may analyze an isolation system for
a machine subject to shock excitation using the
modified shock spectrum approach that has been
described in the context of forging hammer isolation 13 to obtain the following:
(17)

Ap = Arelab~/ = AiArel'Ya f

where a b denotes the peak displacement of the bed

caused by shock motion of the floor with displacement magnitude a# A 1 represents the shock spectrum corresponding to a versed sine pulse acting
on the vibration isolation system; and A r e I represents the shock spectrum for relative displacement
in the work area corresponding to a versed-sine
motion of the bed (Figure 12).
If ~/ and Ao are known, as well as the pulse
magnitude af and duration ~-f (e.g., from Figure 2),
then the values of the natural frequency fvp of the
isolation system that are necessary for adequate
isolation may be determined from the foregoing
expression by trial and error. Values of fvp for the
z-direction that have been determined in this manner are given in Table Ifor a number of machines.
We may note that these values are approximately
equal to the natural frequency values fv that are
necessary with 6v = 0.5 to provide sufficient isolation of steady vertical vibration according to the (/#z
criterion.
Because this correlation holds for practically all
machine tools in Table 1, which have very different
and diverse design structures, it can be extrapolated to other precision equipment, such as those
whose sensitivities to floor vibrations are pre2.0
1.0

- 6=0'

0.5

\\

0.2
<
0.1
0.05

0.02
2

tiT.

Figure 12

Maximum responses amplitudes

(shock spectrum) of generalized relative displacements in work are attributable to versed sine pulse
motion of the bed (t--pulse duration; T--natural
period of a dynamic system)
JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision e q u i p m e n t

sented in Figures 3-6, provided that the impulsive
excitation from the floor is as described by the
plots in Figure 2. However, modern ultrahighprecision equipment is always installed far from
sources of intensive impulsive loads, and 30-60
t~m displacement magnitudes of floor motions, as
shown in Figure 2, would never occur in the controlled environment facilities for high-precision
equipment. Accordingly, required parameters of
the vibration isolation systems determined in Tables 3, 4, 5, 6 would be adequate for isolation of
impulsive vibrations as well as steady vibrations of
the floor.
It was shown (e.g., see Ref. 12 and Figure 12),
that isolator damping has less effect on transmission of shocks than of steady motions. Thus, use of
increased damping may often permit us to use
stiffer isolators for dealing with steady excitations,
which usually are the most important. However, for
cases where impulsive floor motions are particularly severe, stiffer isolators should not be used,
even if highly damped.

Vibration isolation systems

Required parameters of vibration isolation systems
for various units of precision equipment, as presented in Tables I, 3-6, are calculated with the assumption that the unit is mounted in such a way
that there is no dynamic coupling between the vertical and horizontal vibrations of the unit. However,
as it was shown in References 4, 9, and 12, installation of precision machines on conventional constant-stiffness isolators tends to result in strong
coupling of vibrations in the various directions.
This coupling is caused by substantially nonuniform mass distribution in typical equipment units,
difficulties in determining the center-of-gravity positions and calculating weight distribution between
the mounting points, large differences in nominal
stiffnesses between sequential models of vibration
isolators in a given design line, and large deviations of the stiffness values from the nominal values due to manufacturing tolerances. This problem
can be alleviated considerably by use of constantnatural-frequency (CNF) isolators, in which stiffness in both vertical and horizontal directions is
proportional to the weight load on the isolator. 11 As
a result, such isolators provide a high degree of
dynamic decoupling without the need to determine
the center-of-gravity position, to calculate weight
load distribution between the mounting points, etc.
In addition to this, such isolators have a significantly reduced sensitivity to manufacturing tolerances.11
The effect of using CNF isolators is illustrated
by Figure 13, which shows the frequency response
of the relative motion between the grinding wheel
and the table of the surface grinder 3B81 (see Table
I) caused by vertical floor vibrations of 5 ~m amplitude. It may be noted that use of CNF isolators
PRECISION ENGINEERING

i\..
2.0

<

0 I5

.~

_>

0.05

~0

15

20

25

30

35

Frequency, Hz

Figure 13 Relative motion in working area of

3B71 surface grinder excited by 5-t~m floor vibration, for several types of mounts, all employed as
recommended by manufacturer: 1--rubber/metal
CNF, fvz - 20 Hz; 2--steel wedges, fvz - 27 Hz;
3--wire-mesh isolators, fvz - 25 Hz; 4--plastic
pads, fw - 30 Hz; 5---rubber/metal isolators, fvz 15 Hz
providing a natural frequency in the vertical (z) direction of 20 Hz resulted in much better isolation
than even the best constant-stiffness isolators with
the substantially lower 15 Hz resonance frequency
in the z-direction. The difference between natural
frequencies of 15 and 20 Hz is equivalent to approximately twice the difference in the isolator stiffness.
Production models of CNF isolators for vertical
natural frequencies of 10, 15, 20, 30 Hz have been
developed. = Recent research results obtained in the
Machine Tool Research Laboratory of Wayne State
University have provided a basis for designing CNF
isolators for very-low-vertical natural frequency,
from as low as 1-2 Hz.

Side issues for vibration isolated equipment

Vibration isolation using passive isolators results in
a reduced stiffness of the connection between the
isolated equipment and the rigid floor (foundation).
This can lead to rocking motions of the equipment
if it contains internal massive moving units (e.g.,
tables), and to reduction of the effective rigidity of
the equipment structure not tied to the rigid foundation.
The rocking motion of isolated precision machines is sometimes objectionable. This rocking
may be reduced by installing the machine rigidly
on massive foundation blocks and placing isolation
under these blocks. This approach tends to be expensive, however, and makes relocation of the machine very difficult. On the other hand, we often
may take advantage of the fact that in most of the
machines the direction of maximum vibration sensitivity is at right angles to that of the internal excitation. In such cases, the use of anisotropic isolators with the required stiffness ratios can be very
beneficial. Another approach is to use increased
55

Rivin: Vibration isolation of precision equipment

distances between isolators in the direction of the
internal excitations. This decreases the rocking motion component and increases the translational
component, thus significantly improving stability
of the isolated object. The increased distances between isolators can be achieved by installing isolators under a plate or rails attached to the bed.
Smaller precision machines usually do not require the addition of a foundation for enhancing
rigidity of their frames, whereas larger machines
(e.g., machine tools weighing over ten tons) usually do, unless they are specially designed to be
mounted on three points (kinematic mounting). In
many cases, and particularly for machines of intermediate weight (10-20,000 Ibs), judicious placement of the isolation mounts may reduce static deflections of the machine bed, thus in effect, making
it act as if it were more rigid. For the large Schaudt
AR-1500 cylindrical grinder, for example, for which
the manufacturer recommended installations on 15
rigid wedge-mounts placed in the locations indicated by circles in Figure 14, it was found that the
use of 7 mounts placed as indicated by pluses in
the figure resulted in a significantly greater effective rigidity, 4 making it possible to install this machine on isolation mounts without using a stiffening foundation. Another way of stiffening machine
frames is to attach them to rigid plates.
Because the proper selection of the number
and the location of the mounting points is important, both for reducing rocking and for increasing
the effective rigidity of the machine structure, this
problem generally deserves particular attention.
Designers rarely give this the consideration it deserves.

Conclusions
1. Parameters of floor vibrations in various manufacturing plants fit into "constant displacement amplitude" patterns for a limited frequency range (different for vertical and
horizontal vibrations). Use of these patterns
allow us to formulate objective specifications
for parameters of vibration isolation systems.
2. Sensitivity of production and measuring

*~-

O
3834 mm

O
-I

Figure 14 Locations of mounts under bed of

Schaudt AR-1500 precision grinder (O--as recommended by manufacturer; +--favorable installation determined as result of rigidity evaluation)

56

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

equipment to external vibrations can be significantly reduced by a thoughtful structural

design.
Natural frequencies of vibration isolation systems for precision equipment units (and, consequently, stiffnesses of vibration isolators)
can be increased by enhancing the damping
of isolators.
Resilient materials for vibration isolators
should be selected in accordance with prevailing amplitudes of floor vibrations in accordance with the proposed criterion.
Many high-precision production and measuring machines can be successfully installed on
passive vibration isolators having high damping, with active pneumatic/electronic isolators
being needed only in exceptional cases.
Constant natural frequency isolators can substantially simplify design of a vibrationisolated installation and, at the same time, noticeably improve its performance.
Rocking and reduction of effective stiffness of
vibration-isolated machines can be significantly alleviated by judicious selection of the
number and location of isolators, as well as of
their stiffness characteristics.

Acknowledgment
Support from National Science Foundation and
from Wayne State University Institute of Manufacturing Research is gratefully acknowledged.

References
1 Rivin, E. I. "Review of vibration insulation mountings for
machine tools," Mach and Tooting, 1965, 8, 37-46
2 DeBra, D. B. "Vibration isolation of precision machine tools
and instruments," Ann of the C/RP, 1992, 41/2, 711-718
3 Rivin, E. I. Active (Servo-Contro//ed) Vibroiso/ators and
Mounting Systems for Machinery, Moscow: NIIMASH,
1971, p. 80 (in Russian)
4 Rivin, E. I. "Vibration isolation of precision machinery," S/V
Sound and V/b, 1979, 8, 18-23
5 Hegarty, G. P. "Ambient floor vibration survey," Rept
122888 of Jan 28, 1988, Fabreeka Products Company
6 "Floor vibration testing report of future site of a product
line," General Motors Corporation, Private communication,
1990
7 Gordon, C. G. "Generic criteria for vibration-sensitive
equipment," in Vibration Control in Microelectronics, Optics and Metrology, SPIE Proceedings, Vol. 1610, Nov. 1991
8 Ungar, E. E., Sturz, D. H. and Amick, C. H. "Vibration control
design of high technology facilities," S/V Sound and Vib,
1990, 7, 20-27
9 Rivin, E. I. "Principles and criteria of vibration isolation of
machinery," ASME J of Mech Des, 1979, 101,682-692
10 Snowdon, J. C. "Handbook of vibration and noise control,"
The Pennsylvania State University, 1979
11 Rivin, E. I. "Passive engine mounts--Directions for future
development," SAE Transactions, 1985, 3, 582-592
12 Rivin, E. I. "Some issues of vibration isolation of machine
tools," in Dinamika Mashin, Moscow: Nauka, 1969, pp.
229-238 (in Russian)
13 Rivin, E. I. "Design of vibration isolation systems for forging
hammers," S/V Sound and Vib, 1978, 12, 12-15

JANUARY 1995 VOL 17 NO 1