Soundproofing a big steel cabinet

[AndyL]

Hi all,

Hoping to lean on some of that institutional knowledge around here...

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Want to tuck my 3d printers away for noise/smell/controlled environment al conditions reasons. I've got one of these in a 32", going to grab the 48" for this purpose.

Quickly tested throwing a printer in it. Well it makes a great amplifier. Not terribly unexpected.

Wondering if some of you have been down this path? Yes I realize it's an expensive path, but I'm pretty set on yes this is the right path - so how do I make it work.

Let's ignore the doors for now - I'm going to do silly things with them - tambour door upper half and cut down factory doors for the lower half. Think I have a solid plan coming together for the tambour. Mostly...

I was planning to add dynamat or similar to the sides, back top and bottom, add that weight / insulation. Unsure on the shelves - been pondering adding MDF/ply beneath?

I've read contrary articles on putting something in the seams between panels - some say it makes it worse some say better?

Any input/suggestions?

 

[whateg01]

No replies but my first thought was dynamat. The walls of a cabinet are like big speakers so anything to dampen them ought to help. Have you completed this yet?

 

[mike93lx]

Placing the printer on something heavy, like a concrete patio block, will help a lot.

Dynamat (the heavy sheets) is for reducing low frequency vibrations, which will help, but you don't need to cover the panels. A few 1'x1' pieces will do it. You want foams/batts for the higher freq noise

 

[nadogail]

The surface area of your cabinet will act as a drumhead. Keep the vibrations from the printer from being transferred to them. Muffle the panels, maybe with stall mats.

 

[billconner]

You might try some polyurethane foam under printers. Anything for a resiliency between printer and shelf. Couple that with some acoustic fuzz on the interior of cabinet and doors - heavy cloth is probably simplest. A 1x1 or 1x2 frame with cloth pleated and stabled to it. Rigid fibreglass - duct liner - also effective.

 

[LS1-IROC]

You need MLV (Mass Loaded Vinyl) and Foam.

 

[joe_padavano]

Dynamat or one of the clones will absolutely damp out noise and vibration. Basically you need to add mass to the sheet metal panels so they won't vibrate as much. Additionally the Dynamat absorbs some of the acoustic energy, which helps even more. You might also want to check a boat supply store for engine compartment liner. It's a similar material, but potentially less expensive.

 

[billconner]

In 40 years of designing performing arts and similar niuse sensitive spaces, budget was always a major factor. Never allowed for expensive materials like mass loaded vinyl and dynamat. Found equally effective solutions, some better than the expensive materials. If the vibration isolation and fuzz are not sufficient, which I think it will be, glue scrap drywall to inside of cabinet. A lot cheaper than MLV and likely more effective.

Don't know the cabinets but some sort of gasket around doors would probably help. Airborne is first to fix.

 

[bdbecker]

Foam acoustic panels seem fairly affordable online - would there be a reason not to use those? I'm not a sound expert by any means.

 

[Black300zx]

If the printers are stepper motor/timing belt driven, you'll definitely be dealing with higher frequency noise which isn't where mass-loaded vinyl excels, although I imagine you'll also have some lower frequency vibrations to deal with.

With lower frequency vibrations that cause panel buzzing, you can either add mass to lower the panel's resonant frequency below the frequency of the sound that is exciting it it, or stiffen it up to move the resonant frequency higher. Since you're dealing with a prefab cabinet with nice large flat walls, I wonder if adhering some 1" pink rigid foam insulation to the walls would kill two birds with one stone? If you get a good bond to the sheet metal you should stiffen it up dramatically, while the foam should be fairly effective at dealing with the higher frequency sounds. You could grab a sheet, build a quick box with duct tape and put it over one of your printer to see if it's effective or not.

 

[no704]

And u get a heated print enclosure to boot!