Sheet aids shock control in small spaces

A novel high damping thin gel sheet is soft enough to absorb shock and vibration at just 1mm thickness.

Handheld products have to survive daily drops, knocks and vibrations that can put sensitive internal components at risk from damage and also reduce any audio performance.

Narrow-space enclosures of 2mm or less are typical of compact handheld devices making it difficult for engineers to meet stringent shock standards.

This space is often too thin for grommet or foam cushioning solutions to provide much isolation.

The broad temperature ranges typical of handheld environments can also change foams into a brittle or soft state, reducing any shock absorbing qualities.

Gel-Mec has a high damping thin gel sheet that is soft enough to absorb shock and vibration at just 1mm thickness.

Silicone based, the gel sheet performs stably between -40 and +200C, helping designers overcome extreme temperature problems.

The material has a specially designed crosslinked molecular structure that can dissipate incoming shock energy and also eliminate harmful vibrations over a wide frequency range.

The gel helps evenly distribute shock loads across the chassis or enclosure whilst still allowing enough flexure to prevent component breakage.

Gel in sheet or adhesive backed gasket form can help protect rigid brittle components and improve audio fidelity.

Soft and easily compressed, the gel has a lower compression set than urethane foams with minimal bottoming out and reduction in performance over time.

The silicone properties also offer excellent durability and weather resistance.

Gel is available in tape and sheet form from just 1mm thick and small adhesive squares up to 10mm thick.

A foam version of the gel offers all the same high performance characteristics and is available in 3 and 6mm thickness.

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