noise control CNC

[Will Blick]

I am seriously thinking of getting a cnc, prob. a desk top model.
However, noise is an issue... a spindle is mandatory, but still concerned with cut noise. Of course, I use routers all my life, so I know cut noise... but not as continuous as I hope to run the cnc.
A rep at Shop Bot said their full size enclosure was made for dust collection, however, when at trade shows, often customers do not even realize the spindle is cutting inside the acrylic enclosure for their desk top model....so it must be reasonably quiet. Will consider this for sure.

https://www.shopbottools.com/img/pro..._Rendering.png

I realize trade shows are semi loud, but I would still consider that impressive. I have helical heads on my planer and jointer and sure appreciate the 90% reduction in noise. I have become sensitive too loud noise with age, but I also have people in the house and neighbors to be concerned about. Anyone work at CNC noise reduction, or have any general comments?

[John TenEyck]

Lots of folks build enclosures for their small footprint CNC's. Clear acrylic will cut some of the noise, but some folks add sound insulation to cut it even more. Personally, I would hate to lose the easy access if I put an enclosure around my CNC.

A spindle will be quieter than a router, for sure, except when it's making heavy cuts. For carving work it will be quieter most all the time.

How you collect the chips/dust is the 800 lb gorilla on the overall noise level. I use a Fein Turbo 1 which is 68 db with a Dust Deputy to spin out most of the solids. It's very quiet, but you can make it even quieter by putting it in a baffled enclosure. Central dust collectors are substantially louder unless you have it in a separate enclosure or outside. If I used my central dust collector it wouldn't matter whether I used a router or spindle. For the work I do the Fein does a great job.

John

[Will Blick]

I should have mentioned...
I use Laguna PFlux, which is 1.5hp, 70db (at 10ft)
I am curious how significant the reduction in noise is for the enclosures that others have made.
Agreed on access, but noise is an issue... with the ShopBot enclosure, it does have big doors...as good as it gets...

[Carl Beckett]

I have a ShopBot desktop (spindle) in my furnace room of my basement - as part of a condo. The walls have insulation covered by plastic film. The neighbors dont hear it, and from upstairs it sounds like something distant.

I believe an enclosure could be made to mitigate noise to a relatively low level. I use a Harvey DC that sits in the garage with a line running through the wall to the CNC.

As long as your enclosure has circulation to manage heat buildup, I would guess you can get the noise level down to something similar to your Laguna.

[Will Blick]

Hi Carl... interesting, thx for sharing...
Are talking normal insulation like fiberglass, or maybe Rockwool?
and what is the plastic film for... just to protect from dust?
Regardless, that is quite impressive and encouraging... the Harvey is on my hit list too
the ShopBot Enclosure does have a dust port as well as the boot dust collection....

[George Yetka]

If yo back off the feeds and depth of cut you can reduce the noise greatly. Im not there yet, I program and take to the garage and figure it out after the run

[Carl Beckett]

Are talking normal insulation like fiberglass, or maybe Rockwool? Just regular insulation tucked between 2x4 studs. Ceiling is 2x10 or 2x12, again tucked full of insulation. One wall is an outside wall (concrete) with no insulation on it.

and what is the plastic film for... just to protect from dust? Yes. Provides a smooth surface to be able to keep clean. I used clear 6mil film, but if you used white it would provide more light reflection which seems like a good thing.

Regardless, that is quite impressive and encouraging... the Harvey is on my hit list too. The Harvey could be turned down to a lower speed and still be adequate for the CNC. Noise level would pretty nominal.

the ShopBot Enclosure does have a dust port as well as the boot dust collection... Dust collection on the CNC is worth paying attention to.

As George mentions, a lot can be done by adjusting feeds and depths to reduce noise.

If you wanted you could do something like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aBVypAB22us

The home theater groups are quite good information for mitigating noise. Hanging mass loaded vinyl is pretty effective. High frequency noise is more annoying but easier to knock down. The ShopBot enclosure looks like a single layer of a hard material - you could no doubt improve on that greatly if you were willing to give up transparency - foam or hanging vinyl or a combination (again look at the automotive audio pages).

My guess is that if you had a room well insulated, and an enclosure over the CNC, you would have a pretty reasonable setup noise wise.

[Jim Becker]

Enclosures around the CNC don't necessarily need to be "insulated", per se...the primary benefit is blocking direct sound from the tooling cutting the material (and from a router motor if that's what's used instead of a spindle). One also cannot block their view of the action because that's a safety issue. We should never operate the CNC and not pay attention because fires happen sometimes. Clear Lexan can block a large amount of the direct noise while still allowing a good view of the machine bed and cutting operation. It also doesn't break if something goes flying. Since dust collection is going to evacuate air from the enclosure, it's important to make provisions for make-up air to get inside, preferably by an indirect route. This is honestly a similar thing to what one has to do when putting a dust collector into a closet for sound control.