Safely over hill and dale with vibration dampers

Mobile company vaccination team for small and medium-sized enterprises

Sandwich construction from GPS with double bearing of the refrigerator, which is virtually vibration-free thanks to vibration dampers from ACE © GPS

When the GPS team started working on the idea, one of the aims was to transport the properly cooled Biontech doses as vibration-free as possible. Otherwise, the structure of the lipid nanoparticles present in the vaccine could be destroyed, which could lead to liposome coalescence and dosing inaccuracies. As the dosage of the product is only 30 µg, small errors can have major consequences. To avoid this, GPS started an internet search on the subject of vibration damping and came across ACE shock absorbers. Most of the Langenfeld-based company's customers come from the handling and automation, food and medical technology, automotive and furniture industries. In these and other industries, the usual procedure for determining design components is to calculate a customized solution based on a large amount of characteristic data. The corresponding design is either carried out by the specialists from Langenfeld or with the help of a configuration or design tool that ACE offers online. The software is kept so simple and intuitive that the ideal components are suggested within a short time and can be ordered around the clock thanks to a connected online store. In Austria, however, everything went differently in this case for several reasons.

Sandwich construction for really safe transportation

The vibration isolators used in the described application are tear-proof, highly resilient in the range between 3 kg and 100 kg per mounting point and ideally suited for all environments and room axes © ACE

In return, GPS provided the ACE expert with a surprise: "Given that I estimated the total weight of the structure to be calmed at less than 100 kg, I was thinking of mounting it on four CM-VSC1-2-M8 cup mounts. However, when the GPS team then ordered a total of eight of these heavy-duty vibration isolators, I assumed that two refrigerators filled with the vaccine doses would have to be calmed. The fact that GPS instead realized a double storage system surprised me at first, but shows how seriously the problem of the lipid nanoparticles, which could not be destroyed during transport, was taken." The result was a sandwich construction solution in the GPS workshops, based on the motto: We play it safe.

Vibration damper against vibrations and shocks

The pot elements of the Hard Bell Mounts product family effectively protect structures and components of all kinds from vibrations and impacts © ACE

The cup mounts supplied by ACE effectively protect structures and components of all kinds from vibrations and shocks. Normally, the loads are inherent in the system, i.e. they are caused by the design of an overall structure, its dimensions and the dimensions of its drives or other sources of vibration that cause the vibrations. In the case of GPS's mobile vaccination station, however, the vibrations and shocks are caused by driving over cobblestones, kerbs and potholes and are therefore unpredictable. For this reason, GPS also opted for double bearings. With a natural frequency of 16 to 35 Hz and a load range of three to 16 kg per storage point of the refrigerator, a buffer was already taken into account. By doubling the values, it was possible to turn the inoculation mobile into almost a sedan chair. As a result, none of the samples became unusable during transportation. The tear-proof protection of the machine elements is important for this when things get rough in rural areas. Their small size was a positive side effect for the sandwich solution that was implemented. In this case, however, the freely selectable installation positions, which can also be tilted and designed in any X, Y or Z axes, were not an issue.

Equipped with either neoprene or natural rubber as damping material as standard, these compact helpers can also be supplied with silicone for high damping in extreme temperatures or heavy impacts. The vibration dampers can be used for all types of loads in the push, push and pull direction and are available with a central thread or through-hole. Together, GPS and ACE have thus succeeded in bringing a low-threshold vaccination service to remote corners of the Carinthian province.