Construction noise can put heavy equipment operators at risk. Hazardous noise levels can cause hearing impairment and limit situational awareness, leading to an increased risk of jobsite accidents and injuries. Employers can face fines or penalties, but construction equipment manufacturers also face regulatory requirements for maintaining safe noise levels inside the cabin.
Elasto Proxy provides cabin-level solutions for construction noise that include headliners, acoustic panels, and floor mats. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) can choose sound insulation that is pre-cut, has an adhesive backing, and comes in a kit with all the parts to install at a stop on the assembly line.
Ready-to-install cab insulation can also be packaged in order of assembly based on an OEM’s work instructions. These kits can also include door gaskets and window channels, both of which combine environmental sealing with acoustic insulation. Keep reading to learn more, and contact Elasto Proxy if you’re a construction equipment manufacturer seeking noise control solutions.
The Best Cab Insulation for Construction Noise
Elasto Proxy provides construction noise control solutions for machines such as excavators, bulldozers, backhoes, trenchers, telehandlers, loaders, and cranes. When you work with us, you can save time and money by improving product quality and operational efficiency. The services that we offer include:
- Material Selection
- Water Jet Cutting
- Adhesive Taping
- Lamination
- Kitting and Custom Packaging
Material Selection
Elasto Proxy’s cab solutions for construction noise include a choice of acoustical materials in various colors, styles, and thicknesses. These foams, foils, and facings can be combined into sandwich-style structures that absorb, block, and/or dampen noise and vibration. When you work with our solutions providers, we’ll help you to evaluate your options.
Let’s say you need to install sound-absorbing insulation between the roof of a dump truck’s cabin and a thermoformed headliner. Because this acoustic insulation isn’t visible, we may suggest an unfaced acoustical foam made of polyester or polyurethane.
When sound insulation is visible, however, we can offer you a choice of facing materials to meet your aesthetic requirements. These materials can also absorb a specific frequency or range of frequencies while matching the larger color scheme for your construction equipment design.
Water Jet Cutting
Some construction equipment manufacturers still buy insulation in rolls or sheets and cut materials by hand, usually with a knife and a carboard template. This approach is time-consuming and results in material waste from mis-cuts. Plus, as the edges of the template are whittled away, part dimensions become imprecise. Gaps between mating parts give noise a pathway to enter the cabin.
Elasto Proxy uses water jet equipment to cut materials with precision. There’s no tooling to wait for or pay for, and we can nest your parts to maximize material yields. Water jet cutting produces edges, angles, holes, and notches that are difficult to achieve with hand tools. Our computer-controlled process replaces cardboard templates with digital files for consistent cutting every time.
Adhesive Taping
Construction equipment manufacturers who install cab insulation with liquid adhesives add costs and risks. To avoid overspray, workers need to protect or mask specific areas of the cabin. Setup may also involve mixing two-part adhesives and adjusting handheld dispensers. In addition, many liquid adhesives raise environmental health and safety concerns. Plus, cleanups can be time-consuming.
Elasto Proxy can apply pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes to the construction equipment cab insulation that we water jet cut. These PSA tapes provide a peel-and-stick solution that’s fast and easy to install. Many different PSA tapes are available, and Elasto Proxy can help you to choose one for temporary or permanent fastening, and that can withstand specific environmental conditions.
Lamination
Some construction noise control applications need more than one type of acoustical material. For example, the rubber flooring inside the cabin of a bulldozer or a backhoe may not keep enough noise out of the cabin. By laminating a noise-absorbing foam to a sound blocker, Elasto Proxy can provide you with a complete solution.
For example, FM-500-60-ZM flooring includes acoustical foam that’s bonded to a sound barrier. The top of this barrier material features a diamond plate design that can catch water from an operator’s boots while providing a non-slip surface. For cabin interiors, Elasto Proxy can also laminate acoustical materials that meet specific flammability requirements or ASTM specifications.
Kitting and Custom Packaging
Finally, Elasto Proxy offers kitting and custom packaging for greater efficiency. For example, let’s say there’s a stop on the assembly line where a worker installs a headliner, 15 acoustical side panels, and rubber floor mats. Elasto Proxy can produce each part, kit them together, and package everything so that the part to install first is on top, the part to install next is beneath it, and so on.
Assembly efficiency isn’t the only benefit. Kitting reduces the number of SKUs, each of which can cost thousands of dollars to maintain. With a kit, there’s only one SKU to order, receive, store, pick, and pay for. There’s also less risk of picking the wrong parts or installing them in the wrong order. Plus, a kit can also travel from your receiving dock to assembly line and bypass warehousing and picking.
Are you ready for the best cab insulation for construction noise? Choose Elasto Proxy.
