Invention To Innovation: the Houdaille Torsional Vibration Damper

V-J Day August 15, 1945 and the resulting peace treaty marked an end to World War II.  A new era of life began in America.  Industries would apply the technology advancements of the war to commercial use.  Inter-city trucking began to compete against railroads to speed commerce and help build a new economy.  Now if only commercial diesel truck engines had optimal vibration control for prolonged durability.

Introduction

May 15, 2021 marks a milestone for Vibratech TVD.  75 years ago, Bernard E. O'Connor presented his technical paper, "The Viscous Rotary Damper: As Applied to the Crankshaft of An Internal Combustion Engine" to the Society of Automotive Engineers in Buffalo, New York.

EPARTRADE.com and RACER.com have teamed up to present Online Race Industry Week. November 30 thru December 4. Dozens of race industry suppliers are providing 55 hours of live technical and business webinars, and RACER.com will host 15 live panels of race industry leaders.

As Vibratech TVD continues to supply OE customers as an 'essential' manufacturer during the COVID-19 pandemic, we have also taken the moment to review our replacement parts catalog to best supply service centers.  Heavy Duty parts and service managers now have two excellent Vibratech TVD damper choices for servicing their Cummins ISX / X15 owners.

Large industrial heavy duty diesel and gas compression engines can see a life-cycle in excess of 50 to 60 years. Field technicians and operators today may be responsible for servicing equipment that dates back to the 1950s - 1960s. 

"Houde's announcement of the new damper says: 'It should prove one of the most important engineering discoveries of recent years.'"  Buffalo Evening News.  March 13, 1946.

In our final blog post in the series Oil & Gas Industry - Engine Damper Service & Remanufacturing we'll explore replacement and reman options available for the three main types of viscous style dampers commonly found in the field.

In this part of our blog series Oil & Gas Industry - Engine Damper Service & Remanufacturing we provide valuable tips in how to handle and install a heavy duty viscous type engine damper.

Unexpected downtime is costly for everyone involved.  In the fast paced and competitive oil and gas industry an engine failure in any critical piece of operating machinery can significantly impact revenue.  Maintaining heavy duty diesel and gas compression engines in pumping stations, gensets, construction equipment and on-highway trucks are all vitally important.

While they may appear similar in design, Vibratech TVD driveline vibration dampers are different than crankshaft dampers.