PolySorb Edited Content
PolySorb believes that maximizing production efficiency will minimize overall waste. We understand that material planning can be overlooked in the initial design stages, leading to unnecessary waste, and increased labor and material costs. We have specialized custom cutting and planning tools to minimize over ordered and wasted materials for your build projects.
PolySorb’s experts have many years of experience in the construction and development industry, and we understand the importance of efficient material and installation planning. We work closely with designers and engineers to understand their specific acoustic environment requirements then customize cutting and installation plans that minimize material waste while maximizing sound absorption efficiency.
PolySorb loves bringing custom installation ideas to fruition. Understanding that every project is unique, we don’t just draw your designs, we schematically program and validate them using cutting-edge technology. Our team of experts combines deep expertise in the field of computational-aided design, digital manufacturing, and a profound understanding of craftsmanship and materials to create remarkable and sophisticated designs that perfectly meet your requirements – from ideas to budget.
Our unique approach to design and digital manufacturing enables us to create customized products that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.
At our company, we take pride in our ability to combine traditional craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. This approach enables us to create designs that are both functional and visually stunning, while also ensuring that they are durable and long-lasting. We use only the highest quality materials in our designs, ensuring that your products are built to last.
With our deep expertise in computational-aided design, digital manufacturing, and traditional craftsmanship, we can create remarkable and sophisticated designs that perfectly meet your requirements – from ideas to budget. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you with your next project!
ABOUT PAGE
At Impact Acoustic, we pride ourselves on having a deep understanding of the manufacturing process. Our experienced product designers and application engineers have a keen eye for detail, ensuring that every product we create meets your exact specifications. Whether you’re looking to create a prototype or require a large-scale production run, we have the skills and expertise to deliver on time, every time.
Our cutting-edge technology enables us to work with a wide range of sustainable materials, including PET, cotton, and metals. We can handle even the most complex designs, ensuring that every aspect of your product is crafted to perfection. By involving us from the beginning of your new design project, you can avoid delays and streamline the manufacturing process.
With our expertise and state-of-the-art technology, we can help you reduce costs, increase efficiency, and minimize your environmental impact.Our CNC cutting technology enables us to cut materials with unparalleled precision, resulting in minimal waste and maximum efficiency.
We are committed to providing exceptional customer service, and we strive to exceed your expectations on every project. Our team of experts will work closely with you to ensure that your cutting plans are tailored to your specific needs and requirements. Whether you’re looking to create a prototype or require a large-scale production run, we have the skills and expertise to deliver on time and within budget.
With our specialized tools, custom cutting plans, and latest technology, we can help you reduce costs, increase efficiency, and minimize your environmental impact. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you with your next project!
ON HOME PAGE
Never before has spatial design and the negative influence of audio reverberation in live/work spaces been more important. Research and testimonials prove that there are direct correlations between workspace environments and the occupant’s well being, creativity, and work efficiency.
PolySorb helps establish that pathway of creating the perfect workspace environment.
PolySorb prides itself on, not only its product efficiencies, being able to help create the perfect work and entertainment spaces, but also supplying PET acoustic panels that fit our clients best design and service to their clients, the end user.
PolySorb offers a complete family of sound absorption acoustical products that are custom-designed to meet the unique acoustic and aesthetic needs of every customer and their interior environment.
PolySorb is trained in the Science of Acoustics and have the ability to recommend how many PET acoustical panels you will need for your project and can come up with creative ways to fix your acoustical issues.
Today, most offices and commercial venues use open space designs where acoustics have become more important. A little background noise isn’t bad, but for occupants to be most effective and comfortable, they should be able to talk on the phone without hearing distracting environmental noises reverberating in the background.
The best way to find this happy medium is through environmental sound absorption materials. GypSorb PET sound absorption panels and GypSorb perforated gypsum boards allows architects and interior designers to create open spaces that can also enjoy privacy and quietness. PolySorb has a wide range of solutions that deliver this and enhance the other aspects of modern space designs.
If you need any help designing your space or if you are an office fit company and want to offer your clients something unique that works. then please do not hesitate to contact PolySorb for an affiliate referral.
Our Mission – ON ABOUT PAGE
PolySorb Architectural Audio Absorption Solutions strives to inspire interior designers, architects, and installers with unique acoustic solutions that are designed to be aesthetically beautiful, sustainable and highly effective.
Committed To Sustainability
At PolySorb Architectural Audio Absorption Solutions, we prioritize environmental sustainable design in our materials and our processes. Our products must contain 100% recycled material, and meet or exceed CDPH standards for VOCs.
Custom Capabilities
PolySorb Architectural Audio Absorption Solutions are an essential partner to the interior design and architecture community. To reflect our commitment of fulfilling designer needs, PolySorb PET products are completely customizable to conform and enhance to the desired aesthetics.
Our Process
Our process is simple, and support is always available. We guide architects and interior designers through the specification and installation processes with products that can be relied on and backed.
Features
- Made from 100% PET polyester fiber without chemical binders and certified zero VOC
- Highly durable providing long-term stability and performance
- Safe, non-toxic, non-irritant and non-allergenic
- Excellent acoustic performance backed by lab tested data
- Fire retardant, self-extinguishing, and no toxic off gassing
- Archives NRC up to 1.05
- Manufactured under ISO 9001 and ISO 14001 accredited Quality and Environmental Systems
- Suspension installations allows more space on ceilings for mechanicals and utilities
- Enables unobstructed natural light to come in through windows and skylights
- Greater surface area of sound absorbing material can be used, particularly for high ceilings
- Can be easily installed on adjustable suspended ceiling grid and adhered to walls
- Can be used where concrete soffit must be exposed for thermal reasons
- Quickly removable if necessary
- Lightweight and easy to handle
- Heat and thermal insulation
- Many colors to suit architectural and interior design themes
- Multiple colors can be used to create visually stunning effects and depths
- Limitless branding and design possibilities with custom shape cutting
- Pin-able for office partition systems
- Solid color throughout, no need for edging or capping
Technical
- Size up to 5’ x 12’
- Thickness 3/8” to 2”
- Custom shapes and sizes available
Acoustic Certifications (ASTM C423)
PET Polyester acoustic panels have many construction applications, but acoustic absorption is the key attribute. Regardless of manufacture, all PET acoustic panels should have an NRC value.
Comparing panels from different vendors may look the same but have vastly different ASTM C423 results. But the higher the number is isn’t necessarily better.
There are different variations of the ASTM C423 tests. They range from “A” mount where the PET acoustic panel is placed directly on a cement floor (and will have a lower NRC number) to an “E” mount where the PET acoustic panel is suspended a few inches in the air (and the NRC number will be higher).
On another note for ASTM C423 testing that produces an NRC value, keep in mind that NRC is an average of performance at different frequencies and distances. If you know the specific acoustical profiles or sound frequencies that you need to target, then look at the charts on our data sheets to compare performance at your specific frequency.
Flame and Smoke Certifications (ASTM E84)
ASTM E84 certification uses a test combination of flame spread and smoke generation. Probably the most important certification for applications that are considered “building materials”. You may not need this certification, but PolySorb has their acoustic panels tested to this specification.
ON BAFFLES PAGE
PolySorb PET Acoustic Clouds Or Baffles?
PolySorb regularly gets asked what is the most effective acoustic ceiling treatment, Clouds or Baffles? The answer is both, however, there are some environmental situations where PolySorb recommends the use of one over the other and sometimes a combination of the two.
PolySorb PET Acoustic Baffles
Baffles effectively absorb sound while offering better interior design styling options than a traditional suspended ceiling and can be used to work in a wider range of spaces. When designed correctly, baffles can remain hidden in plain sight and keep the focus on the key design features of the space without disrupting the flow or aesthetics.
When specifying baffles, appropriate spacing is the most important efficiency factor. Projects where adequate baffles aren’t hung, the acoustic performance was poor. Some designers space baffles every 3 feet trying to save money, however, that doesn’t provide optimal acoustical control. PolySorb recommends spacing baffles 1 foot apart. And, baffle depth is very important. They should be a minimum depth of 1 foot to be effective.
Sound may still get past baffles, hit the ceiling, and bounce back around causing discrete reflections. If you want to fully mitigate reflections, baffles may not be fully effective unless they are oriented in a specific pattern and direction. They could negatively refract sound from one side of the room to another. To mitigate this, PolySorb recommends installing baffles in two or more patterns and directions, in a grid pattern, and use in conjunction with perforated wall board products from our sister company, GypSorb.
Baffles are vertically suspended in rows and columns spreading across the expanse of your ceiling as best you can. Our installers provide their best mount method to the ceiling, including wire to thread through our grommets and then the fastening technique to your ceiling, such as J hooks, screws, or twist tied to the top of your joists. The baffles are designed to tuck up inside your runs of joists, with the bottom of the baffle equal or slightly higher than the bottom of the joist. If your ceiling is finished, drywall anchor screws or J hooks work great. If your ceiling is a drop grid tile system, append clips to the grid, thread the wire through the clip and through the grommets to easily support the baffle.
PolySorb PET Acoustic Baffles are designed to provide unique and decorative design choices while significantly improving the sound quality by reducing sound reverberation.
PolySorb PET Acoustic Baffles are available in a range of color and thickness.
By incorporating PolySorb PET Acoustic Baffles the reduction in unwanted reverberating noise can be significantly reduced. Some frequencies, up to 100% of unwanted sound can be absorbed by installing PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels of the appropriate thickness with various differences in air space behind them.
Sound absorbing PolySorb PET Acoustic Baffles are part of the product range of acoustic wall and ceiling noise abatement systems. Acoustic baffles are an viable option for treating interior noise from today’s public spaces that have a lot of hard surfaces. Hard surfaces reflect sound causing it to bounce around creating annoying noise, making rooms uncomfortable to use.
White gloves should be used when handling PET acoustic panels to avoid staining or marking the baffles. Install the first baffle and check that the installation is satisfactory before proceeding with the rest of the panel installations.
Acoustic Clouds
Acoustic clouds are easy to specify if it is difficult to find the space that is a good application for baffles or ceiling mounted panels. Acoustic ceiling clouds are cable suspended horizontally, come in a variety of colors, thicknesses, styles, sizes, and shapes. They can actually boost ceiling visual design, and hide distracting and unappealing ceiling fixtures and equipment.
PolySorb clouds are created with difficult ceilings in mind. Clouds help absorb sound within an open space to reduce reverberation, no matter what type of ceiling or interior space you are dealing with. The height of the cloud is less critical than a baffle, as it is more important to make sure the clouds fit architecturally and thematicly.
In many environments, there may not be a right or wrong option. The decision between baffles or clouds may come down to which complements the interior design the best. In noisy restaurants, it’s more about quantity; the more PET acoustic products the better. Open office spaces are a prime example where any treatment is going to be better than no treatment at all, as one of the main issues here is low or no partitions and being able to manage occupant privacy. The ceiling is the strategic and primary starting point, but the walls probably will also need audio absorption treatments to achieve ideal sound levels.
Ultimately, the type of space, and its use, will define whether baffles or clouds are the best for your audio absorption solutions.
ON PRODUCTS PAGE
One of the hottest trends in commercial and industrial interior design is the rise of PET polyester acoustic panels. The use of PET acoustic panels has grown significantly in new construction, retrofits, of commercial and public spaces.
Over the past few years, PET polyester acoustic panels have seen a massive increase in demand and requirement. Due, primarily, to their spectrum of colors, durability, and ease of use when compared to traditional fabric wrapped fiberglass acoustic panels.
The industry is quick to adopt these panels as desk dividers, light fixtures, hanging sound baffles and clouds, wall-mounted art, or any number of other uses.
What quality attributes should you look for when assessing PET polyester acoustic panels?
There are several factors to consider when determining whether a PET polyester acoustic panel is of top quality.
Uniformity
The first panel should be just like all of the others panels. Also important, is each individual PET polyester acoustic panel consistent within itself?
A key marker of a poor manufacturing process is one panel not looking like the others. When dealing with large-scale install projects, even a small inconsistency problem will stand out when looking from panel to panel and section to section. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the panel manufacturing process, it is impossible for panels to be exactly identical even in the best of manufacturing facilities, but PolySorb strives for the best panel consistency available.
Blending
Equal distribution of colors in a PET acoustic panel is one of the first things that will be evident. Many of our colors have a “marbled” look to them. This happens when blending two or more colors of fiber together. This is common and less evident the further the panel is away from the eye.
Thickness
Another one of the most important considerations is comparing the thickness of panel to panel. When placing panels next to one another on a wall or in a line, check to see if the panels are a consistent thickness.
The thickness of a PET acoustic panel is one of the major drivers of its acoustical absorption capability. Thicker is better, and consistency will be obvious!
Stiffness
Many applications for PET acoustic panels, require very rigid panels. Check if the panel is stiff enough for your specified use. Is each panel consistent? This could be from corner to corner and from end to end.
Many manufacturers have a hard time getting adequate heat through the panels to fully activate the low melt fibers. This is especially evident on thicker panels. Often, an inferior panel will have a softer center and hard surface faces when you look at the panel from the edge. If this happens, the panels do not hold mounting PETClips or suspension hardware very well and can collapse and bend easily. This usually destroys the PET acoustic panel by creating unwanted wrinkles on the surface.
CHARACTERISTICS – ON NEW INTALLATION PAGE
Easy To Install
PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels are very easy to install. It can be directly glued to sheetrock walls and ceilings or any other form of board such as plywood, cement board, cement walls etc. using a strong adhesive. PolySorb also has their patented PETclips system. Panels can be cut into any shape and size using a sharp blade or Festool saw blade.
High Acoustic Properties
PolySorb PET acoustic boards provide a relatively high Noise Reduction Coefficient. These acoustic panels have a NRC value range from 0.45 – 1.05, making it an ideal product for theaters, auditoriums, office space, conference rooms, recording studios and any other space that need sound reverberation abatement.
Maintenance
PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels are made from the highest quality, high density polyester materials. They do not require any form of special maintenance. Regular vacuuming and cleaning with PolySorb cleaner is sufficient in order to maintain the integrity, efficiency and beauty of the panels.
Ecofriendly
PolySorb PET Acoustic Boards are very safe and ecologically friendly. The composition of acoustic panels comprises of 100% recycled PET. The PolySorb Acoustic Panels do not produce any harmful substances during installation unlike fiber glasswool or mineral rock wool. PolySorb products are non-carcinogenic and contains no harmful substances of any nature, and are 100% recyclable.
Longevity
PolySorb’s focus is on providing the highest quality materials with a high longevity. PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels are made from high quality raw materials and with minimal maintenance, these panels will not degrade or fade for a period of 10+ years.
Thermal and Heat Insulation
Apart from having superior sound absorption properties, PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels provide excellent insulation values from cold and heat as well.
Polyester Acoustic Panel (standard)
PolySorb PET Acoustic Panels are an excellent alternative to acoustic ceiling tiles, especially in small and narrow rooms. PolySorb offers a broad range of new and standard colors to enhance your creativity while mitigating sound reverberation.
To effectively mitigate sound reverberation challenges the acoustic experts at PolySorb recommended covering at least 50% of the ceiling with panels, clouds or banners. And acoustic panels can be used as design features to better blend with other interior design elements.
PolySorb PET Acoustical Wall and Ceiling Panels Specializing in Polyester Acoustic Boards and more – GALLERY PAGE
PolySorb PET Acoustical Wall Panels are the perfect solution for rooms and areas that experience excessive and uncomfortable sound reverberation. Available in a variety of colors, sizes and thicknesses for various applications, PolySorb specialize in the most technically advanced and tested acoustic materials in the world.
Our New Colors series is a recycled polyester-fiber material that is in high demand. The New Colors series offers the widest range of brilliant colors. All are formaldehyde free and can be custom manufactured to meet any specification. These high impact acoustic panels can be used in interior or exterior applications and be delivered in a timely window.
APPLICATIONS – Add to meta data
Auditoriums, Restaurants & Hotels, Soundproof Paneling for Lobby Areas, Pet Panels for Reception Area, Multi-Purpose Halls, Acoustic Panel For Wall Assembly Area, Commercial Spaces, Sound Absorbers for Call Centers, Foldable acoustic office partitions, Acoustic Sound Panels for Classrooms, Hospitals, Industrial Areas, Road noise barriers, Acoustic Sheets for Home Interiors, and TV Back panel, Panel Acoustic for Dance and Music Studio, Broadcast Stations, Acoustic Panels For Walls Soundproof Studio, Soundproof Room, Home Soundproofing Walls, Acoustic Board, Acoustic Wall Panels, Acoustic Walls Meeting Room, Sound Absorbing Panels for Conference Room, Board Rooms, Soundproof Panels for Home theater, Soundproof Wall Panels for Living Room
CASE STUDY CONTENT
In 2022 Abiding Hope Church in Littleton, Colorado embarked on a project to refurbish the Family Life Center, a multipurpose room in their church building. Jim Sponnick at Abiding Hope Church commented “Our first steps in refurbishing the Family Life Center were removal of the carpeting and polishing the concrete. The floor looked great, but the resulting acoustics in the room were extremely poor, to the great detriment of the many events and musician rehearsals that occur in this space. “
Soundpost Acoustics was subsequently called in to evaluate the troublesome acoustics in the room and make recommendations for improvements. During our evaluation visit we found an extremely live room that made social gatherings and music rehearsals extremely difficult and made speech unintelligible, especially when amplified. The room clearly needed new sound-absorbing finishes to treat the acoustics, but aesthetics and budget were also major factors to be considered, and there were many questions about how to proceed: What would the optimal treatment materials be? How much treatment would be needed? Where should the new treatment materials be located?
The room had a concrete floor, tables and chairs, gypsum board walls and a peaked ceiling with a textured gypsum board finish. The ceiling seemed to be a good place to start, since it offered the most available surface area, but questions remained about how much surface area was needed for treatment and what material would be best suited for the situation.
Photo of Family Life Center during the evaluation visit. The textured gypsum board ceiling was highly sound reflective. Next to before install photo
“After reaching out to Soundpost Acoustics and discussions about how we use this room, they made detailed measurements. They then performed analyses and assessed options, subsequently providing an outstanding set of recommendations for taming our out-of-control acoustics.”
-Jim Sponnick, Abiding Hope Church
To answer these questions, we started by making acoustics measurements in the room. During the measurement session we set up a loudspeaker to play a test signal and a pair of microphones to capture the acoustical response of the room. To capture an overall room average, the loudspeaker was aimed in different directions and the microphones were moved around the room. We averaged the individual measurements together in order to arrive at an overall reverberation time curve. This process resulted in the dark blue curve “Existing Room, Measured” below, showing the reverberation times (T20) versus frequency. Note that this curve reaches a maximum value of around 2.7 seconds between 500Hz– 2,000Hz, which corresponds to the frequency range of the human voice. This result certainly confirmed the Client’s complaints about the room’s acoustics, and greatly exceeded our recommended range shown by the dashed lines in Figure 3.
Following the measurement session, we calculated reverberation times using the Sabine equation. For this calculation, absorption coefficients are needed for each of the materials in the room. Absorption coefficients describe how much sound the material absorbs. A highly sound-reflective material like concrete, for example, has a very low absorption coefficient, while an absorbent material such as fiberglass has a high absorption coefficient. In this case, we started from standard values for the various materials in the room, and then adjusted them slightly until a close match between the calculation and the measurement was achieved, as seen in Figure 4. More on these absorption coefficients later …
The calculation also allowed us to explore various options for acoustical treatments in the space. We settled on 1” thick PolySorb polyester panels covering a minimum of 2000sf of the ceiling, further recommending that the panels be mounted with a 1” airspace to enhance absorption at lower frequencies. This amount of new treatment, in addition to a smaller area of sound-absorbing material at the front wall, yielded an estimate for the treated room which would reduce reverberation times to the upper end of our recommended range (dark red dashed line) in Figure 4.
With the basic treatment recommendations now set, Contour Audio & Acoustics was brought in to design the PolySorb panel layout and perform the installation. Contour took a panelized approach to the design, leaving consistent gaps between panels, and staggering adjacent rows for visual interest. The PolySorb material had to be cut around various elements already in the ceiling, including light fixtures and HVAC openings. Several detail images of the final installation are below:
“Ryan and the team at Contour did an excellent job in designing and installing our acoustic treatments. “
Jim Sponnick – Abiding Hope Church
Subjectively, the room was immediately transformed with the installation of the new ceiling treatment and the client was pleased with the result. Jim Sponnick said “the recommended acoustic mitigations from Soundpost Acoustics improved the aesthetics in the Family Life Center and most importantly they dramatically improved the room acoustics.”
It was clear that reverberation times had been greatly reduced, but by how much?
In late 2023, we returned to the room to repeat our initial reverberation time measurements. During this measurement session, we found that reverberation times had been reduced to around 0.8 seconds at mid-frequencies, below our original estimates and into our recommended range. While this surely represented a successful installation, how could we account for the remaining difference between our original calculation and the measured result shown in Figure 6 (i.e., dashed red line compared to solid light blue)?
With the new set of measured reverberation time data in hand, we re-visited the Sabine calculation for the original report. While there were a few minor differences between the two measurement sessions, including a small area of treatment on the front wall, and some minor setup differences in the room, we concluded that the primary factor that reduced the reverberation times must be the change of absorption along the ceiling. We corrected the actual PolySorb surface area that was installed (2124sf) and adjusted the absorption coefficients in the calculation to match the actual measured reverberation time data. As shown in Figure 7, these “empirical” absorption coefficients turned out to be a bit higher than our original estimated coefficients. In the meantime, we had also received laboratory absorption data for PolySorb from the manufacturer, allowing the 3-way comparison of absorption coefficients shown in Figure 7.
While the three absorption coefficient curves in Figure 7 show similar trends, they also reflect some interesting differences. The empirical coefficients exceed both our original estimates and the lab coefficients between 125-500Hz by a significant margin. It seems that our original estimated coefficients were conservatively low.
The lab coefficients are for PolySorb with a 2” airspace, which would be expected to increase low frequency absorption compared to a 1” airspace, but the opposite trend is seen here. One explanation for this result is that the gaps provided between panels in the installation (see Figure 5) increased the effective surface area of the PolySorb by allowing more sound to find its way to the edges and the rear side of the material. In the laboratory, the PolySorb test sample was as a continuous sheet without gaps in between sections, exposing only the perimeter edge to the test chamber.
Another important factor is that the PolySorb was installed on a gypsum board ceiling, while in the laboratory setting it was tested against a concrete slab. This installation difference would account for the differences seen at 125Hz between the dark blue and the red curves in Figure 7.
This case study highlights a very successful project. The acoustical performance of the PolySorb exceeded our expectations and a tremendous reduction in reverberation times was achieved. Contour provided a beautiful design and a craftsman-quality installation. Most importantly, our Client was pleased with the result!
We are extremely happy with the results and it was a great pleasure working with Soundpost on this project!” – Jim Sponnick, Abiding Hope Church