NewDamp isolators provide a remarkably high damping with loss factors around 0.5 to 0.8 at room temperatures in the 10–100 Hz frequency range. This level of damping is two to five times better than other commercial elastomers. The high damping factor makes them ideal for supporting and damping the high acceleration amplitudes produced by very high throughput stages used in wafer positioning, inspection and electronic manufacturing applications. NewDamp elastomers can be built into equipment isolation supports and even custom machinery feet.

Constant Natural Frequency (CNF) is a complex property that reduces sensitivity to load deviations and offers a high degree of modal decoupling. The natural frequency of most elastomeric mounts lowers with increasing mass or increases with decreasing mass. This means that the vibration isolation characteristics will vary with load. NewDamp elastomeric isolators use special geometry profiled elastomers and mounting fixtures. These isolators accommodate changes in load with changes in stiffness which holds the stiffness to mass ratio constant. As a result, the CNF isolators deliver much better isolation than even softer conventional isolators do. 

A remarkable property of NewDamp™ isolators is their ability to quickly attenuate the transient motions, thereby reducing the settling time of the equipment after the stage movements or other disturbances. The following comparison was made for a dual-axis air bearing stage mounted on a granite basis (total weight: 800 kg) and supported by four NewDamp™ ND40 isolators.

NewDamp products exhibit a remarkably high damping with loss factors around 0.5 to 0.8 at room temperatures in the 10–100 Hz frequency range which is two to five times better than other commercial elastomers. The high damping factor makes them ideal for supporting and damping the high acceleration amplitudes produced by very high throughput stages used in wafer positioning and electronic manufacturing applications. NewDamp elastomers can be built into equipment isolation supports and even custom machinery feet.

NewDamp is made from a highly engineered polyurethane U-16 compound that is fully cleanroom compatible. These products have been used in Class 100 Fabs to support wafer inspection and positioning systems. 

NewDamp™ elastomers are available as elastic elements, to be incorporated into the customer's vibration isolation system, with Newport standard interfaces (microlock breadboard, X95 rail, etc.) as standard vibration isolators, or with Newport custom interface plates as custom vibration isolators. Moreover, the Newport vibration control engineering group has developed proprietary software and test systems to customize elastomers for specific machinery needs. Once provided with primary machinery characteristics such as load, shock response, and resonance modes, Newport can develop a tuned solution. First articles can be produced quickly in our rapid prototype shops. Contact Newport Sales for more information.