Passive mechanical damping and stiffness enhancement

Constrained layer damping (CLD)

Carbon fiber CLD (structural)

• Carbon fiber plates bonded to steel plates

• Applied only to load-bearing steel plates with high modal strain

• Explicit locations:

  • spindle tower plates (both sides)

  • optional X-carriage side plates

• Purpose:

  • increase structural damping

  • suppress bending modes

• Not intended to significantly increase stiffness

• Carbon fiber plates not used as mounting surfaces

3M damping tape (non-structural)

• Viscoelastic damping tape applied to thin sheet metal

• Explicit locations:

  • enclosure inner sheet-metal panels

  • thin covers and noise-radiating panels

• Purpose:

  • suppress panel ringing

  • reduce airborne noise

• Explicitly not applied to:

  • precision interfaces

  • rails

  • force-loop components

Epoxy granite (EG)

• Epoxy-based mineral composite used as internal damping filler

• Composition:

  • epoxy resin

  • low-cost mineral aggregates

• Filling strategy:

  • perimeter fill preferred

  • hollow core retained to reduce mass

• Explicit locations:

  • X-carriage box-section beams: yes

  • Y-axis rail support beams: optional, evaluative

• Purpose:

  • structural damping

  • acoustic attenuation

• Stiffness contribution considered negligible

Elastomeric isolation (PU)

• Thin polyurethane layer introduced at selected interfaces

• Explicit location:

  • between spindle housing and spindle mounting plate

• Purpose:

  • isolate high-frequency vibration

  • reduce noise transmission

• PU layer:

  • preloaded by bolting

  • not part of stiffness or compliance tuning

• Not used at:

  • linear guide interfaces

  • force-loop structural joints