Sound levels of routers

[Jimdandy]

So its my first post here! yay!

Got a question... I have been reading up on this whole DIY CNC router bit for about a year now. I Hope to get that last few parts needed to get going on it soon.

Question: Has anyone seen/come up with a good solution to knock the decible level down of the router while its on? I do realize that the cutting of the material is where a good amount of noise comes from but with a dust collection skirt it may knock it down a bit.

I was thinking about boxing in the router with a couple of ports for airflow and with using the dust collection to cool the box.( there would be two hoses.. small one for the router box and the larger dia. hose for the actual dust collection).

Thanks in advance for any reply

[CarveOne]

To my knowledge the only way to quiet the router and cutting noise is to fully enclose the machine. The enclosure will need to be lined with sound absorbent material and the enclosure must be easily removable for maintenance and alignment. The dust collector (or vacuum cleaner) will still be almost as loud. It will get very dirty inside the enclosure.

I plan to build a sound deadened room for the cnc router and dust collector when my workshop construction is completed.

CarveOne

[Jimdandy]

Thanks for the response! What type of sound dampening material do you plan on using? We have used a little bit of the stuff( dampening pannels and canisters/tubes) at work to limit the Db in the powder paint room but they were a little on the expensive side..

I would also imagine your talking about using a clear poly for the walls, so you can see through it?

JD

[Gir]

Thanks for the response! What type of sound dampening material do you plan on using? We have used a little bit of the stuff( dampening pannels and canisters/tubes) at work to limit the Db in the powder paint room but they were a little on the expensive side..

Using rigid fiber glass insulation wrapped with felt absorbs sound very well. It's pretty cheap and it's easy to make. Owens Corning 703 is very good, but the other numbers have different ranges of sound absorption. You can check out this link to see the coefficients of absorption - the higher the number the better. I actually have OC703 wrapped in felt in my apartment. I've built my own speakers, but the room is so live I needed to dampen some of the sound. It's really neat when you put your ear right next to the panel; you feel like you're deaf in that ear!

1) Buy rigid fiber glass (oc703 is good)
2) Wrap felt around rigid fiber glass
3) ???
4) Profit!

[Jimdandy]

Thanks Gir... Ill definetly try that and post my findings.

[CarveOne]

If you use Lexan or Plexiglas walls for the enclosure I doubt that you will see anything through it after the cutting starts on something like MDF. It may be ok if you are using a good dust collector.

Even "egg crate" foam glued to the inside of cheap plywood enclosure walls will work better than nothing. Anything that can contain the noise will make it less harsh on the ears.

My plan is to escape from the room that the router and dust collector are in. Once the door is closed it should help. There will be an e-stop switch and a view window at the door where I can monitor the cutting progress. Harbor Freight sells electronic hearing protection for $20 that will help when in the room.

CarveOne

[Mike Stevenson]

Between the Router and the Vacuum noise it seems quite loud. I have my machine in a garage. With the big door open you can hear it from outside. But when you close the Garage door you can hardly hear it at all. Egg cartons stapled to the walls are great sound absorber too.

[Gir]

Just to clarify, the egg cartons and egg crate foam work fairly well for just lowering the sound a bit, but the rigid fiber glass is pretty much as good as it gets in the lowish price range. It will obviously cost you much more than egg cartons, but the sound dampening is extremely effective. Putting your ear next to the egg crate foam won't sound much different than normal, but putting it next to the rigid fiber glass you'll hear nothing.

And yes, I have done side by side comparisons.

[docltf]

i use a dewalt router and the screaming noise that it made was brutal.so i built a dc power supply for it.knocked that ac scream out.the cutting noises that it makes now are bearable and you can talk to somebody while it is cutting.the router runs cooler,quieter,brushes last longer.and as a bonus manual variable speed.

bill

[Mike Stevenson]

Take my advise and close all the windows and doors. You are not making a Hollywood sound stage here. Besides Fiberglass is some toxic, itchy stuff.

[artwood_decor]

Hi Bill,
can you post a schematic and maybe picture of what you did?

Lucian

[Gir]

...Besides Fiberglass is some toxic, itchy stuff.

Good point. If you do use the fiberglass, make sure to at the very least wear a protective mask so you're not inhaling any of that stuff.