Characterization of 3D printed polymer mounts in translational and rotational DOF

Mounts are important transfer elements to isolate structure-borne sound from a source to a receiver. The dynamic transfer behavior of a mount can be described using frequency dependent dynamic stiffness and damping. For determination of these parameters, a mount can be abstracted as a two-port element. The stiffness matrix of this element includes input, output and transfer stiffnesses for translational and rotational DOF. Especially the measurement of rotational DOF can be a challenge. A promising approach for this is the Virtual Point Transformation. Hereby, the dynamic behavior in a virtual point of a structure is calculated by combining signals from several vibration sensors. This approach was used to determine stiffness matrices of different polymer mounts, which were manufactured using a 3D printing process to ensure direction-dependent dynamic properties. This paper deals with the practical implementation of the method as well as the presentation of the results and deviations of the dynamic transmission behavior of the polymer mounts.