Light Vehicle Products | Dampers & Decoupling Systems
Steering Dampers
Mitigate driver disturbance and fatigue while improving comfort.
Mitigate driver disturbance and fatigue while improving comfort.
Vibracoustic offers different steering damper solutions, each customizable to suit customer applications and NVH optimization goals:
Steering Wheel Damper (with or without bracket)
This solution uses a tuned die-cast zinc mass mounted with cone-shaped silicone rubber dampers to counter and dampen vibrations in the steering wheel. These can be tuned to mitigate vibrations in multiple directions. The steering wheel damper can also be mounted via a sheet metal bracket to the steering wheel armature. Elastomer limiters prevent excessive movement of the mass.
Steering Wheel Inflator Damper
Vibracoustic’s steering wheel inflator dampers are compact and minimize additional mass by utilizing the airbag inflator as part of the damping system. Vibracoustic has solutions for inflators both with and without flange. Both these solutions have no impact on the safe function and deployment of the airbag.
Steering Wheel Module Dampers
An innovative and cost-effective solution to managing steering wheel NVH challenges, the module dampers utilize the steering wheel’s DAB-module (Driver Air Bag-module) as the moving mass. They attach to the steering wheel frame and are the smallest available steering damper solution, allowing for greater DAB-module design freedom. The module dampers are made from liquid silicone rubber with a plastic internal structure. They are easy to assemble, with a simple snap-fit and screw, while also offering broad performance for very little additional weight and material. To further simplify the assembly process for the customers, a full assembly including plastic overmolding of the horn plate can also be supplied. This solution has no impact on the safe function and deployment of the airbag.
About Dampers & Decoupling Systems
Isolators and mass dampers are ideal for solving a wide variety of vibration-related challenges transmitted into the chassis from the road surface. Linear dampers are a strategic design element to counteract unwanted noise and vibrations – especially in lightweight structures.
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Mass dampers are ideal for use in applications where vibrations need to be balanced with opposing inertial forces. In these configurations, an additional spring-mass system with the same frequency, but opposite amplitude, acts on the vibrating structure, effectively eliminating its vibrations. The way mass dampers work means they can be used in a wide variety of scenarios: transmissions, steering wheels, and even whole convertibles are just some of the applications that make use of this indispensable system to prevent Noise, Vibration and Harshness issues.
Active mass dampers are another way of improving comfort even further. They use a sensor placed on the vibrating structure and an ECU (Electric Control Unit) that controls a solenoid which is able to accelerate the absorber mass. This way, active mass dampers not only come with a design that weighs less and takes up less space than their conventional counterparts, but they are also able to adjust to variables such as additional cargo load, road surface excitation, and temperature.
Decoupling solutions for auxiliary components can address new NVH challenges especially in electric vehicles. Here auxiliary systems like coolers, pumps and compressors are not belt-driven anymore and auxiliary noise and vibrations are significantly more noticeable due to the lack of the masking noises of the combustion engine.
