Thatās only if itās solid. A rubber foam (available in different durometers/hardnesses, open or closed cell) can compress vertically without expanding horizontally.
For any hardness/durometer youāll have to choose the area of rubber to use to give you the desired compression at the anticipated loads. I try to aim for 50% compression.
For softer rubber youāll need more of it to provide the desired compression. For harder rubber youāll need less of it to provide the desired compression.
Iām a big fan of 100% rubber coverage (to provide even support of the entire object, in this case a pack) and selecting the thickness and durometer/hardness that provides the compression I want.
Interesting. I believe I pruned that information when I was reading up on specifically sorbothane, but Iām not entirely sure. Iām a fan of one sheet for ease of installation, but Iād still think strips would have benefits regardless of that. Cost(on a grand scale anyways), airflow, and disipating heat into multiple objects instead of one all come to mind. But remember, Iām a stupid.
Sorbothane is incredible stuff but it indeed is a solid, not a foam. At least all the Sorbothane Iāve used is solid. The stuff Iāve seen is pretty hard though, designed for very high loads, so I agree that you would to use a softer rubber.
One concern with strips (or shapes) is that it allows much more lateral shifting/bouncing. This is typically not a good thing unless accounted for.
From a protection point of view, IMO itās better to choose 100% coverage and select a thickness/hardness that is suitable for the expected bouncing/vibration. There are some softer neoprene foams that are terrific for this.
For lower cost you could go with strips/shapes. But there are downsides to that approach, like the lateral shifting mentioned above and my next thoughtā¦
How much more cooling is there really available in a sealed enclosure with all those layers of fishpaper, tape, and heat shrink blocking effective heat transfer to the outside of the pack?
Since the thermal conductivity of the rubber is higher than still air there is also a good case to be made that 100% rubber coverage would result in better cooling. The rubber provides a better heat conducting path to the enclosure shell than still air. Using multiple strips means less rubber conducting heat and that means less heat being removed. Itās all about thermal resistance and the more surface area you have pulling away heat the lower the thermal resistance of the setup and the easier the heat can flow out (that is, lower temps).
If there is air flow through the enclosure then perhaps a case could be made for using only strips of rubber to allow the air to pass by the pack. But the pack is very well insulated and IMO even this wouldnāt make much of a difference. Best to design a pack that doesnāt get hot.
All makes sense. Like I said, i am a stupid. I was actually looking into sorbothane specifically for the purpose of vibration dampening grip. Still very interested in trying it for that.
That sounds like a great use for it. Would love to hear how it works out!
I was using it as a shock dampener in the heel of my running shoes when recovering from plantar fasciitis and the hardness of the Sorbothane I had was great since so much force was put on such a small area. It kept the material from squishing flat (which would make it useless).
I had the idea when I found out itās whatās used for damping vibrations in high end speakers and instruments. Not sure what Iād use for the actual GRIP, though. Rubber is great, until it gets wet.
It just doesnāt work out like i want it to. I usually set myself a hard limit for 2am but it keeps getting later and later.
