Hush Box

[RobertP]

I wonder if it would do any harm to put this machine inside of a hush box, its quite loud , Any thoughts pros, cons?

[yenne]

We put such a box together a while back in order to cut down on the noise during demonstrations at shows. It works extremely well -- you can have a normal conversation standing over the machine while it cuts. It's constructed from plexiglass and foam insulation (pic below).

One downside is that you're limited on the size of workpiece unless you put some kind of feed-through holes in your box. We didn't try this, so I'm not sure what effect it would have on the noise reduction.

Another downside is that it can be difficult to operate the keypad and the handles unless the box is designed to give easy access to these. Ours is a simple lift-away design, so we can set the machine in motion and then place the box over it.

We haven't completely explored whether a long-running project will get too hot inside the box. Since our box limits the size of workpiece, we've never cut for more than a half-hour or so. It does get warm (like in the 80's F), which is fine if it stabilizes there but could be a problem if a long-running project pushed it over 100F. If your box expels the exhaust from the cut motor then the machine itself could generate some positive air flow and could probably keep the inside of the box cool enough. Again, though, I don't know how much noise this would add since the cut motor is obviously the loudest part.

On the positive side, the box totally contains any expelled sawdust. One could get creative with a pegboard bottom and a shop vac in order to give some airflow and remove dust. Keep in mind, though, that although the machine is designed to run continuously for hours, many shop vacs are not.

[winta]

I wear ear protectors. Mine play the radio, so I listen to classical music while working. They cut out a lot of noise.

[Jwade]

I wonder if it would do any harm to put this machine inside of a hush box, its quite loud

I HAVE MY CW IN A PLYWOOD BOX USING DROP CEILING TILE AS INSULATION. AND I HAVE ACCESS TO FEED WOOD IN AND OUT ON THE SIDES.. I HAVE RAN PROJECTS LONGER THAN 2HRS AND HAVE HAD NO HEAT PROBLEMS. I AM ALSO WORKING ON A DOWN DRAFT TABLE USING PEG BOARD AS SUGGESTED IN OTHER POST. I WILL POST PICS WHEN I HAVE FINAL DRAFT COMPLETED.
THIS SUMER WILL BE THE ACTUAL TEST THOUGH. 100+DEG. FLORIDA HEAT IN GARAGE W/NO A/C YET.
KEEP THE CHIPS FLYING
JWADE.

[hotpop]

When I was having my shop built I had it fully insulated with 3 1/2" fiberglass. Before the drywall was installed I noticed there was absolutely no echo with in the building.

So here's how I built my sound box. The box is made of 1/4" leuwan plywood and framed with 1x2's around the outside edges. The box measures 28"x28"x60" long. The side panels are attached to the rear panel with two screws, just enough to hold them together. The top just sits on the three sides. I lined the inside walls and top with R-11 fiberglass insulation. I attached the paper side of the to the wall and top with water base contact cement. So far the box cost around $30

Most of my CW projects are under 2' long so the box is big enough. For longer boards I just put a 5 1/5 block under each corner and raise it up.

When I get around 2-it I make a couple of doors for the front. Anyway fiberglass absorbs a lot of sound. Can't say how much but there is a big difference.

I also have a down draft system connected to my shop vacuum system. The vacuum is 2hp about 15' away from the CW. At this point I'm not sure which makes the most noise.

[auriclux]

This is the shorter of two threads I found on the hush box and mine seems to fit in better here.

The photo's I intend to include should be worth a few thousand words, but basically the box is a 1x2 frame with luan panels and a hinged front lined with acoustic foam (http://stores.ebay.com/Foam-Factory-of-Canada). The cart is made of 2x scrap ripped down to 2x2 with plywood shelves and stake material edges and braces.

I've not put wheels on the cart yet, or rather, my first attempt didn't work well so it's back to the drawing board.

After all that, the machine is still loud. My next step is draping the wood pass holes.

After that, I dunno. I'll take suggestions.

[Baumer]

Maybe line the inside of the box with egg cartons if there's enough room. I would think that they would absorb alot of the sound. Just an idea.

[www.go3d.us]

You can add a wall of pink foam board insulator from homedepot.
It really help.
HT

[jspringertx]

I have operated my CompuCarve in the middle of the summer in Houston, Texas. I built a hush box and installed a blower on top of the box. In addition to the blower directing air on the top of the box towards the unit I normally use a fan blowing on the box.

I used the pink isulation from Home Depot, but I feel that the accoustical foam would be a better noise reducer. I also wear noise reduction headphones when I operate the machine. I have the habit of watching the machine work and it is noisy.

[andes]

Britt, seems the pic did not load.